WASHINGTON — The final order of removal against illegal immigrant and accused MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia will stand after an immigration judge rejected a motion from his attorneys to reopen the case Wednesday.
In August, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys had petitioned to reopen the case due to fears that he was at risk of “imminent removal to Uganda” after the Department of Homeland Security notified them that he may get deported to the African country.
“The word ‘may’ is permissive,” Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Philip Taylor wrote in his opinion.
“[It] indicates to the Court that in sending this notification to Respondent’s counsel, the Department sought to convey that it reserved the right to remove him to Uganda, not necessarily that it intended to do so, that it had decided to do so, or that it would do so imminently.”
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys had argued in their motion that their client was eligible to apply for asylum in the US because he had been deported to El Salvador and then brought back earlier this year to face federal human trafficking charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Taylor disagreed, ruling the motion was “untimely” because it was filed close to six years after initial litigation over Abrego Garcia’s illegal entry into the US — well past the required 90-day deadline.
In their August motion, attorneys for Abrego Garcia contended that he could face torture or death from the government of El Salvador due to public accusations that he’s an MS-13 gang member.
Taylor rejected that argument as well, deeming the evidence “insufficient.”
“Respondent also does not indicate that the guards made any statements or otherwise indicated that they believed him or the other deportees to be gang members, so they do not appear to have imputed MS-13 gang membership to him,” the judge wrote.
“Notably, while prison officials interrogated Respondent about his alleged gang membership and took pictures of his tattoos, they did not mistreat him during the interrogation.”
DHS cheered the decision.
“With today’s ruling, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s final order of removal stands. This MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, domestic abuser, and child predator will never be loose on American streets,” DHS wrote.
“His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S. but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country. He will never be allowed to prey on innocent Americans again.”
Abrego Garcia had been at the center of a firestorm earlier this year following his deportation to El Salvador in March, which the Justice Department admitted took place in violation of a prior order.
In late 2019, Abrego Garcia had secured a “withholding of removal” order that barred his return to El Salvador due to concerns he could face persecution. He had illegally entered the US in 2012, according to court documents.
At the time, his legal team claimed that Barrio-18, a rival gang of MS-13, threatened and extorted his family.
Several elected Democrats had jetted down to El Salvador to draw attention to Abrego Garcia’s case, spending thousands in campaign funds in the process.
The US government brought Abrego Garcia back to the US in June while additional litigation plays out.
He is currently being held in a Pennsylvania facility, where he was moved from Virginia after being detained by immigration authorities following his release from custody to his brother in Maryland pending the trafficking case.
Also Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a motion to postpone all deadlines in Abrego Garcia’s Maryland deportation case due to the government shutdown. An evidentiary hearing had been set for Monday.
