Illegal immigrant gang member charged with human trafficking vows to fight Trump admin over 'injustice' of deportation

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 gang member who has been charged with human trafficking previously, has said he will continue to fight “injustices” perpetrated against him after a federal judge blocked authorities from re-detaining him ahead of a scheduled immigration check-in.

“I stand here today with my hand held up high, and I will continue to fight and stand firm against all of the injustices this government has done upon me,” Abrego Garcia said via translator.

His remarks came after a federal judge granted an emergency temporary restraining order preventing the government from taking him back into custody before he was set to appear before immigration authorities. The order was issued after an immigration judge added a removal order to Abrego Garcia’s immigration record.

“Shortly after midnight, we filed an application for temporary restraining order with Judge Xinis, and at 7:30 a.m. she granted the temporary restraining order prohibiting Kilmar Abrego Garcia from being re-arrested at this check in today. As a result of that, I'm pleased to announce that Mr. Abrego Garcia will be walking back out those doors again later this morning,” his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said, according to ABC News.

Abrego Garcia was released from immigration detention on Thursday after Judge Paula Xinis ordered his release, finding that the government could not continue to hold him because he had not been issued a valid removal order. However, later that night, an immigration judge issued a decision stating he had “corrected” an error in Abrego Garcia’s record and added a removal order.

Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran national who has been living in Maryland, was deported last March despite a 2019 court order barring his removal due to fear of persecution. He was brought back to the United States over the summer to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee. The Trump administration claims he is a member of MS-13, and two judges had previously found he was a member of the violent gang.

After his return, Abrego Garcia was released into the custody of his brother pending trial, then later detained again by immigration authorities and placed in a detention facility. In her Thursday order, Xinis said that “since Abrego Garcia's wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority.”

"The circumstances of Abrego Garcia's detention since he was released from criminal custody cannot be squared with the 'basic purpose' of holding him to effectuate removal," Xinis added.

In August, Xinis blocked the government from removing Abrego Garcia until his habeas case challenging his removal was resolved. The habeas petition was granted on Thursday.