Immigration attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg of the firm Murray Osorio, one of the two firms representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia in his immigration lawsuits against the Trump administration, on Thursday confirmed his client left U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in Pennsylvania.
His departure from the facility, where he has been held for months following his pretrial release in Tennessee, came just hours after an order was signed by U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, which demanded his immediate release. Xinis argued that Abrego Garcia’s 2019 immigration case concluded without a viable final deportation order, making ICE unable to detain or deport the citizen of El Salvador who illegally entered the United States more than a decade ago.
According to The Associated Press, Sandoval-Moshenberg nonetheless acknowledged this was likely to be the final effort to deport his client.
“The government still has plenty of tools in their toolbox, plenty of tricks up their sleeve,” he reportedly told the outlet, which reported that he “fully expects” further proceedings. “We’re going to be there to fight to make sure there is a fair trial.”
Sandoval-Moshenberg previously claimed his client would consent to immediate deportation to Costa Rica, though the Trump administration sought to deport him to Liberia.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin first hinted that the Trump administration planned to appeal Xinis’ order on Thursday morning, and by afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm an appeal would be forthcoming.
“The administration opposed this activism from a judge who is really acting as a judicial activist, which we’ve unfortunately seen in many cases across the country,” said Leavitt. She stated, “Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a proven human trafficker. He is a proven gang member.”
McLaughlin said earlier on Thursday, “This is naked judicial activism by an Obama appointed judge. This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.”
Abrego Garcia was originally deported amid contested circumstances in March, but was returned to the United States in June, just weeks after The Tennessee Star reported that he was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in November 2022, when troopers discovered he held an expired Maryland driver’s license given only to illegal immigrants, transporting nine passengers with no identification, and driving a vehicle owned by a convicted human smuggler.
A spokesman for THP later told The Star that the “Biden-era FBI” instructed troopers to release Abrego Garcia, while a DHS document showed they suspected human trafficking. The Star was recently recognized with the Dao Prize for Best Local Journalism for its reporting on Abrego Garcia.
Returned to Tennessee after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed the indictment accusing him of spending nearly a decade embroiled in a human smuggling ring, Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His case is expected to reach trial in January.
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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].
Photo “Kilmar Abrego Garcia and CASA representative Lydia Walther-Rodriguez” by WeAreCASA.
