Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration From Deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, Keeping Injunction in Place
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a temporary order Monday preserving prior injunctions that bar DHS from re‑detaining and deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a third country, extending a legal standoff after he was deported to El Salvador in March 2025 in violation of a 2019 order that barred his return. The Trump administration has asked the injunction be dissolved, saying Liberia is willing to accept Abrego Garcia and ICE could arrange removal within about five days once the order is lifted, with ICE Director Todd Lyons warning that abandoning negotiations with Liberia could harm U.S. diplomatic reliability.
📌 Key Facts
- U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a temporary order blocking the Trump administration’s plan to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia and kept in place two prior Xinis orders that bar DHS from re‑detaining him and deporting him to a third country.
- An immigration judge in 2019 barred Abrego Garcia’s return to El Salvador because of threats of persecution; DHS mistakenly deported him to El Salvador in March 2025 in violation of that order, later returned him to the U.S., and officials have called the 2025 deportation an "administrative error."
- After being returned to the U.S., Abrego Garcia was slated for the CECOT mega‑prison and faces human‑smuggling charges he denies as vindictive.
- DOJ/DHS filings say Liberia’s government remains willing to accept Abrego Garcia, and an ICE declaration states ICE could arrange a charter plane and remove him to Liberia in roughly five days once Judge Xinis lifts her order.
- ICE told the court it was “confident that Mr. Abrego Garcia’s removal would be imminent” and asked Judge Xinis to rule on the administration’s motion by April 17.
- ICE Director Todd Lyons’ filing says DHS decided to disregard Abrego Garcia’s request for removal to Costa Rica and instead planned a swift removal to Liberia, arguing the statute does not allow new country designations years after the original 2019 hearing, and warned that abandoning removal negotiations with Liberia could "cast doubt on the diplomatic reliability of the United States."
📊 Relevant Data
Black migrants constitute 5.4% of the undocumented population in the US but account for 20.3% of migrants facing removal based on criminal convictions.
Black Undocumented Migrants Face Far Higher Deportation Rates — Capital B News
Under the Trump administration, ICE detentions of noncriminal Latinos increased sixfold, with nearly 10,500 new noncriminal Latino detainees in September 2025, up from lower levels earlier in the period.
Noncriminal Latinos detained up sixfold under Trump — Calo News
Migration from El Salvador is driven by stagnant economy, high levels of crime and violence, and natural disasters, with US foreign policy interventions in the 1980s contributing to long-term instability by supporting governments during the civil war.
Central American Immigrants in the United States — Migration Policy Institute
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a new temporary order Monday blocking the Trump administration’s plan to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia.
- The order explicitly keeps in place two prior Xinis orders that bar DHS from re‑detaining Abrego Garcia and deporting him to a third country.
- ICE Director Todd Lyons’ Friday filing told the court that DHS had decided to disregard Abrego’s request for removal to Costa Rica and instead planned a swift removal to Liberia, arguing the statute does not allow new country designations years after the original 2019 hearing.
- Lyons warned that abandoning removal negotiations with Liberia over Abrego could "cast doubt on the diplomatic reliability of the United States."
- The article reiterates that an immigration judge in 2019 barred Abrego’s return to El Salvador because of persecution threats, and that DHS previously deported him there in 2025 in violation of that order, which Trump officials now concede was an "administrative error."
- DOJ/DHS filings state that Liberia’s government remains willing to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
- An ICE official’s declaration says ICE could arrange a charter plane and remove Abrego Garcia to Liberia in roughly five days once Judge Paula Xinis lifts her order.
- The filing quotes ICE as being “confident that Mr. Abrego Garcia’s removal would be imminent” and asks Judge Xinis to rule on the motion by April 17.
- The article reiterates that Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025 in violation of a 2019 order and was slated for CECOT mega‑prison before being returned to the U.S. to face human‑smuggling charges he denies as vindictive.