The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District this week allowed the Trump administration’s appeal of a decision blocking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia to proceed, but simultaneously granted the request by the foreign national to return his deportation fight to District Court Judge Paula Xinis.
In a decision released publicly on Wednesday, the three-judge Fourth Circuit panel rejected the portion of the appeal included by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that sought to reverse Xinis’ block on deporting Abrego Garcia to Liberia, the West Africa country that was first identified as the federal government’s preferred destination to deport him last October.
The Trump administration originally filed their appeal on April 17, which was 60 days after Xinis issued her order blocking ICE from detaining Abrego Garcia, but before the judge issued a ruling on her later decision to block his deportation to Liberia.
At the time, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argued Xinis had constructively ruled against the Trump administration by declining its request to submit her answer to another order that asked Xinis to reverse her prohibition on deporting Abrego Garcia to Liberia prior to April 17.
The decision by the appellate court will now allow Xinis to rule on the Trump administration’s request to lift her earlier injunction, which it made after obtaining a series of diplomatic assurances from Liberia about how Abrego Garcia would be treated upon his arrival.
Xinis, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, has suggested in her rulings that the only legal destination for Abrego Garcia to be deported is Costa Rica, which agreed to accept him at the request of the U.S. State Department during failed negotiations for a plea deal in the federal human smuggling case filed against him last year.
While the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously opposed sending Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica, Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in June that his agency would “be happy to send him” there.
A federal immigration judge first ordered Abrego Garcia to be deported in 2019.
In May, the charges against Abrego Garcia were dropped by U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who was also appointed by Obama. The judge determined the case against Abrego Garcia involved vindictive prosecution after reviewing video of Attorney General Todd Blanche discussing the case on television. The DOJ has appealed the decision.
The Tennessee Star was the first news outlet to report last year that Tennessee Highway Patrol stopped Abrego Garcia in 2022, but released him at the instruction of the Biden-era FBI, despite a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document showing troopers suspected human trafficking.
Federal prosecutors in Tennessee confirmed reporting by The Star sparked the investigation that ultimately led to the human smuggling case against Abrego Garcia. Last year, The Star was recognized for its reporting on Abrego Garcia with the Dao Prize for Best Local Journalism.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
