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

By Andrew Goudsward

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.

Xinis during Monday's hearing expressed frustration over the administration's handling of the case, particularly the uncertainty over a potential second deportation. A federal judge overseeing Abrego's criminal case ordered last month that Abrego be released, but the Trump administration has said it plans to immediately take him into immigration custody and bring new deportation proceedings.

"It's chaos, and it's chaos that can be avoided," Xinis said on Monday.

Xinis ordered U.S. officials to testify on Thursday about the administration's plans for Abrego if he is released from criminal custody.

The case has drawn attention as Trump pursues his hardline approach toward immigration. 

Trump administration officials have portrayed Abrego as a criminal. A Justice Department lawyer said on Monday that if Abrego is deported again he would most likely be sent to an unidentified third country, but left open the possibility that the government would seek to reverse the 2019 ruling that barred deporting him to El Salvador.

The timing of that potential second deportation is unclear, but the Trump administration has said it plans to bring Abrego to trial on the human smuggling charges.

Abrego sued in Maryland federal court to challenge his deportation to El Salvador and is now seeking to revise the lawsuit following his return to the United States. Abrego's lawyers have asked that he be returned to Maryland and be given an opportunity to challenge any future deportation.

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In rejecting the administration's bid to end the civil lawsuit, Xinis found there was a risk that Abrego could be improperly deported again. 

"For three months your clients told the world they weren’t going to do anything to bring him back," Xinis told a Justice Department lawyer. "Am I really supposed to ignore all that?"