U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, on Wednesday issued a ruling to block the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from immediately detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged human smuggler, if he is released from Department of Justice (DOJ) custody in Tennessee.
Xinis’ ruling will block federal immigration authorities from arresting Abrego Garcia if he is released from DOJ custody in Nashville, despite his status as an illegal immigrant who has been subject to a final deportation order since 2019. This will seemingly allow Abrego Garcia to return to Maryland, where he will be subject to periodic check-ins with federal authorities.
The order will additionally require federal law enforcement to provide written notice to Abrego Garcia’s attorneys 72 hours in advance of their decision to begin deportation proceedings, which Xinis (pictured above) claimed would provide time for the citizen of El Salvador to consider his legal options.
She made the order despite the objections of DOJ attorneys, who warned that her Maryland court lacks jurisdiction over Abrego Garcia in Tennessee, while citing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that demanded the Trump administration “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the country.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi argued his return was facilitated on June 6, when Abrego Garcia was returned to Tennessee to face federal human smuggling charges after she unsealed an indictment claiming he spent nearly a decade involved in a criminal conspiracy.
Abrego Garcia is currently in DOJ custody in Tennessee, where U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw on Wednesday denied the government’s motion for a detention hearing, remanding the case to Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, who must now rule whether Abrego Garcia should be released.
His attorneys have filed an unopposed motion requesting he be detained an additional 30 days due to concerns over an imminent deportation.
Xinis was notably called an “activist” judge and “terrible draw” with “little regard” for executive power in a letter by August Flentje, a suspended DOJ attorney who was a part of the early decision to concede that the Trump administration wrongly deported Abrego Garcia.
The Tennessee Star was the first news outlet to report that Abrego Garcia was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol in November 2022, when troopers were told to release him by the “Biden-era FBI” despite their suspicion he was engaged in human trafficking.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty in the federal human smuggling case. His trial is scheduled for January 27, 2026.
– – –
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].
No. This corrupt Marxist tyrant in a robe has no standing. This is a citizen of El Salvador illegally in America, not a “Maryland man.”