BREAKING: Obama-appointed judge says Trump admin ‘absolutely forbidden’ from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia

US District Judge Paula Xinis blocked his deportation and said in court to the Trump administration legal team, “Your clients are absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States. That is the understanding that we have?”

“Your honor, yes,” DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign said in response, per The Hill. "We certainly understand that.”

Xinis said that Abrego Garcia’s deportation to Uganda cannot take place until she holds a hearing to see if he can contest the deportation order to the third country. The order from the judge comes after the alleged gang member was released from jail in Tennessee on Friday. He was also notified by ICE that the agency would be taking him into custody for deportation when he went for an immigration check-in in Baltimore, Maryland.

“Third country removals often take some time,” Ensign added.

After Abrego Garcia was deported earlier this year alongside other gang members to El Salvador, it was revealed that a clerical error had led to him getting deported. The Trump administration, however—citing the judgement of two previous judges who handled his case—said that he is a member of MS-13 and was rightfully deported despite the error.

The case has become a flashpoint, with corporate media outlets and pundits characterizing Abrego Garcia as a "Maryland father" who was wrongfully deported from the country.

He was brought back to the US and charged with human trafficking counts related to a traffic stop in Tennessee and then held in jail until a judge ruled in favor of his release. He was detained by ICE on Monday morning in Baltimore leading up to the order by the judge.