A Democrat-aligned federal judge in Maryland has just issued an order blocking the Trump administration from deporting illegal alien gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia until at least October.
The ruling extended a temporary reprieve for the violent MS-13 gang member after his arrest earlier this week.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, a Barack Obama appointee, extended a temporary restraining order that she had issued on Monday.
The order requires that Abrego Garcia be held within the continental U.S. and no more than 200 miles from the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The order will remain in place until an evidentiary hearing is scheduled for October 6.
The activist judge said she would rule on the emergency request within 30 days after the hearing.
The decision effectively keeps the so-called “Maryland Man” in the U.S. for at least five more weeks.
It temporarily blocks the Trump administration from deporting him to a third country, such as Uganda.
The move followed an emergency habeas request filed Monday by Abrego Garcia’s attorneys.
The MS-13 thug’s lawyers argued that he must remain in the U.S. to ensure due process protections before any removal.
Those protections include the right to a “reasonable fear” interview, the attorneys argue.
ICE officials had notified Abrego Garcia’s attorneys last week that they intended to arrest and deport him as early as Wednesday.
The East African nation of Uganda recently reached an agreement with the U.S. to accept certain deported illegal aliens.
However, details of that arrangement remain unclear.
Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign told the court Wednesday that the Trump administration objected to extending the restraining order.
However, Ensign confirmed the government would comply with the judge’s order.
Earlier in the week, when issuing her initial emergency order, Xinis emphasized:
“Your clients are absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States.”
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys also told the judge Wednesday that they had filed an emergency motion in Baltimore immigration court to reopen his case and seek “asylum.”
Yet, that request falls outside Xinis’s jurisdiction.
Xinis has previously expressed concern over the lack of guarantees from Uganda about Abrego Garcia’s treatment if deported there.
She contrasted that with Costa Rica, which had provided written assurances that Abrego Garcia would be free to live in the country without risk of being re-deported to El Salvador.
Justice Department officials had offered Abrego Garcia removal to Costa Rica last week as part of a plea deal tied to his guilty plea on human trafficking charges in Tennessee.
He declined the offer.
READ MORE – Democrats Melt Down Over Plan to Deport MS-13 Gang Thug Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Africa
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