A man once wrongly sent away from the country he had fled now asks, once more, for the protection a nation promised him years ago. In a Maryland courtroom's distant echo, a filing reaches an immigration judge seeking to reopen a claim that was shut out on a technicality long before the present storm arrived. Here the old machinery of law meets a new ambition to send him somewhere else entirely, and the question becomes whether the promise of safety can still outlast a government's determination to move him. What is decided next will say less about one life than about whether a legal word, once
Abrego Garcia Renews Asylum Bid as Trump Administration Pushes to Deport Him to Uganda
Abrego Garcia was allegedly tortured in a El Salvador mega-prison after being wrongly deported in violation of a court-ordered withholding of removal.
"We're literally in a different ocean."
Mark
Why does this motion matter so much, if he's already protected from deportation for now?
Mimi
Because the current protection comes from court orders, which can change. If the judge reopens the asylum claim, federal law itself bars removal while the application is pending.
Mark
And the government has said something about that?
Mimi
Justice Department attorneys acknowledged in court papers that they would let the request play out before deporting him.
Luke
Worth noting that's an acknowledgment about the motion being decided, not a promise about the outcome. Nothing here says the judge will grant it.
Mark
What happened to his first asylum claim?
Mimi
It was denied in 2019 because he filed more than 12 months after arriving in 2012. But he got a withholding of removal covering El Salvador.
Mark
And that was violated.
Mimi
Yes. He was sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador earlier this year, where his attorneys say he was tortured.
Luke
Keep that attributed. The torture claim comes from his lawyers, and the MS-13 accusation comes from administration officials. The report presents both as claims, not established findings.
Mark
And the Uganda plan?
Luke
The administration said it wants to deport him to a third country, such as Uganda. That's a stated aim, not a finalized removal order, as far as this reporting shows.
Der Puls
- A renewed asylum motion lands in front of an immigration judge just as the administration pushes to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda.
- If the judge reopens the claim, federal law would halt removal while it is pending, turning a fragile court order into a firmer shield.
- Justice Department lawyers have conceded they will let the asylum request play out before attempting any deportation.
- A separate challenge over the Uganda plan heads to a scheduling hearing Wednesday, with his past torture allegations and a violated withholding order hanging over every step.
A man once wrongly sent away from the country he had fled now asks, once more, for the protection a nation promised him years ago. In a Maryland courtroom's distant echo, a filing reaches an immigration judge seeking to reopen a claim that was shut out on a technicality long before the present storm arrived. Here the old machinery of law meets a new ambition to send him somewhere else entirely, and the question becomes whether the promise of safety can still outlast a government's determination to move him. What is decided next will say less about one life than about whether a legal word, once given, still holds its weight.
On Monday, lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked an immigration judge to reopen his asylum claim, a request that arrives as the Trump administration presses forward with a plan to deport him to Uganda. Abrego Garcia is the Maryland man who was wrongly sent to El Salvador and later brought back to face federal criminal charges.
If the judge agrees to reopen the case, federal law would bar his removal while the new application is pending, a protection stronger than the court orders that currently hold him in place. Justice Department attorneys have already said in court papers that they would let the request play out before moving to deport him.
His story began in 2019, when he first sought asylum after fleeing gang violence in El Salvador. The application was denied for being filed beyond the one-year deadline, though the same judge granted him withholding of removal, an order that barred sending him back to El Salvador. The administration violated that order earlier this year, sending him to a mega-prison where his attorneys say he was tortured.
A scheduling hearing in his separate legal challenge is set for Wednesday morning, and the judge's ruling on the asylum motion will determine whether federal law, not just court orders, stands between him and another forced departure.
On Monday, lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia filed a motion asking an immigration judge to revisit his asylum claim. Abrego Garcia is the Maryland man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador and later returned to the United States to face federal criminal charges. The filing comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with a plan to deport him to Uganda.
The motion could further delay any removal. If the immigration judge agrees to reopen the claim, federal law would bar officials from removing him from the country while the renewed application is pending. Justice Department attorneys have acknowledged in court papers, in a separate filing, that they would let his request play out before moving to deport him. Other court-imposed orders already prevent officials from deporting him for now.
A source familiar with the case described to CNN what a grant would mean. "If the motion is granted then it's been a sea change. We're literally in a different ocean," the source said. An asylum grant from an immigration judge would also let Abrego Garcia remain in the United States.
His asylum history goes back to 2019. Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador years ago to escape gang violence, and he first applied for asylum in the US that year. An immigration judge denied the application, ruling that it could not be granted because he had not filed within 12 months of arriving in the US in 2012.
The same judge did grant him a withholding of removal, an order meant to prohibit officials from deporting him back to El Salvador. That order was violated earlier this year. Trump administration officials, who have accused Abrego Garcia of belonging to the gang MS-13, sent him to a mega-prison in El Salvador. His attorneys say he was tortured there.
He was brought back to the US in June to face federal human smuggling charges. In recent days, the administration has said it wants to deport him again, this time to a third country, with Uganda named as one example. Those plans prompted a fresh legal challenge from Abrego Garcia, aimed at slowing the administration's efforts and ensuring that immigration officials do not violate his due process rights a second time.
A scheduling hearing in that challenge is set for Wednesday morning. Beyond that, the immigration judge's decision on whether to reopen the asylum claim will determine whether removal is blocked by federal law and not only by court orders.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
If the motion is granted then it's been a sea change. We're literally in a different ocean.— Source familiar with Abrego Garcia's case, speaking to CNN
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