A federal judge in Maryland ruled that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia must be kept in the United States while the court weighs a challenge from the Trump administration, which has moved to deport him to Uganda.
Abrego Garcia, who had legal status, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Baltimore on Monday following his release from a Tennessee jail on Friday.
Immigration officials on Friday said that they plan to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda. However, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that his deportation should be paused until after his claim for protection has been heard, citing concerns that the United States could place him in a country that threatens his safety.
As a result, a subsequent blanket court order was triggered that has paused his deportation efforts for two days.
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U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who heard the case today, said that she plans to extend the current hold on Abrego Garcia’s removal to have more time to decide whether the administration is violating his due process rights, CNN reported.
Xinis added that the current blanket order in place makes it “absolutely forbidden to remove Abrego Garcia from the continental United States.”
Abrego Garcia has become the face of President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts. The administration deported him to El Salvador in March, sparking a months-long legal effort that culminated in the Supreme Court unanimously ordering that the administration “facilitate” his return back into the country.
The administration initially admitted that Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador was a mistake, and Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, called it “a screw up.”
But upon his eventual return, Abrego Garcia was detained on human smuggling charges.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been split over their response to Abrego Garcia. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California called his deportation a “distraction” being used to deflect from discussion about Trump’s tariffs.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who represents Abrego Garcia, and several other Democratic House lawmakers traveled to El Salvador earlier this year to bring attention to his case.
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