Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain under a final deportation order after an immigration judge denied a motion from his attorneys to reopen his case. Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Philip Taylor ruled Wednesday that the motion was untimely, filed nearly six years after Abrego Garcia’s original immigration proceedings and well beyond the 90-day deadline required by law.
In an August emergency motion, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys contended that he was eligible to seek asylum after his deportation to El Salvador earlier this year and his subsequent return to the United States to face federal human trafficking charges in Tennessee, to which he pleaded not guilty. They also raised the possibility that the Department of Homeland Security could deport him to Uganda.
Judge Taylor rejected these claims, stating that the evidence was insufficient to show Abrego Garcia would face persecution or torture in El Salvador, including arguments related to alleged MS-13 gang affiliation. The judge noted that while officials interrogated him and took pictures of his tattoos, he was not mistreated during detention.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the ruling, emphasizing that Abrego Garcia “will not be able to remain in our country.” Meanwhile, the Justice Department requested a postponement of all deadlines in Abrego Garcia’s Maryland deportation case due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Abrego Garcia, who was deported in March despite a 2019 order barring his removal to El Salvador, is currently being held at a detention facility in Pennsylvania.
