US judge rules Abrego's challenge to wrongful deportation can proceed

Earlier DU thread: Judge calls DOJ's motion to dismiss Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawsuit "meritless"

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Source: Reuters

US judge rules Abrego's challenge to wrongful deportation can proceed

Andrew Goudsward
Mon, July 7, 2025 at 12:37 PM EDT·3 min read

GREENBELT, Maryland (Reuters) -A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that Kilmar Abrego's legal challenge to his wrongful deportation to El Salvador can continue despite the decision by President Donald Trump's administration to bring him back to the United States to face criminal charges.

Maryland-based U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis found that there were ongoing issues to resolve in the case, including whether the administration fully complied with prior orders to facilitate Abrego's return and allow his immigration case to be handled as though he had not been improperly deported.

Justice Department lawyers had argued that the case was moot given Abrego's return from El Salvador in June to face U.S. charges accusing him of unlawfully transporting migrants living illegally in the United States. Abrego has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Tennessee.

Abrego is a Salvadoran national who was living in Maryland when the U.S. government deported him in March to El Salvador despite a 2019 judicial order barring such a move on the grounds that he could face persecution by gangs in his home country. His wife and young son are American citizens.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/news/judge-rules-abrego-wrongful-deportation-163727703.html

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Judge Xinis expressed frustration at the DOJ's ever-shifting legal rationales.