In an oral order issued Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda. Prior to the Obama-appointed judge’s stay on his deportation, Abrego Garcia could have been removed to the East African nation as soon as Wednesday.
Before Abrego Garcia reentered federal custody on Monday, following his required reporting to the ICE Baltimore Field Office, his immigration attorneys announced a new civil lawsuit against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, which includes both a habeas corpus petition and various alleged violations of due process related to the planned removal to Uganda.
The docket number for the lawsuit suggests it is related to Abrego Garcia’s other lawsuit against Noem, which could explain why it was immediately assigned to Xinis, who was described as a “terrible draw” and “activist” judge by one of the DOJ attorneys who initially represented the federal government in the first civil suit brought by Abrego Garcia.
“Your clients are absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States,” Xinis reportedly told Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign.
Habeas corpus petitions typically do not stall a deportation, but Maryland has a standing order that requires a 48-hour delay any time such a petition is filed. That delay would have ended on Wednesday, at about the 72-hour requirement of advanced notice issued in a July order by Xinis would conclude, until Xinis issued her stay.
Xinis scheduled a follow-up hearing for Friday and instructed the attorneys representing Abrego Garcia and DHS to confer on a briefing schedule for the lawsuit.
Abrego Garcia was released from DOJ custody in Tennessee last Friday, where he is scheduled to face trial on human smuggling charges in January 2026.
The case stems from the November 2022 traffic stop of Abrego Garcia by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) troopers, which was first reported by The Tennessee Star earlier this year. A THP spokesman later told The Star that Abrego Garcia was released at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI,” and a DHS document later confirmed troopers suspected human trafficking.
Abrego Garcia successfully cited his 2019 final deportation order, which contained a withholding of removal provision that applied to Guatemala, to secure a U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring the Trump administration to facilitate his return from El Salvador, where he was deported in March.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador agreed to release Abrego Garcia back to the United States after she unsealed the indictment, claiming he spent nearly a decade embroiled in a human smuggling ring.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty in the federal case out of Tennessee.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Lindsey Graham voted for Xinis being appointed to the bench. Trump endorsed Graham.
Deport this black robed Marxist criminal to North Korea.