Judge extends order blocking Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation

GREENBELT, Md. (DC News Now) — A judge has extended an order temporarily blocking the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda.

Abrego Garcia has become a poster case for the Trump administration as it seeks to crack down on immigration. Weeks turned into months of legal battles between federal judges and the White House as to whether the El Salvador man, who was residing in Maryland with his wife and children, would be permitted to stay in the U.S.

On Aug. 27, a small win for Abrego Garcia was secured as federal Judge Paula Xinis extended the temporary restraining order blocking his deportation, ordering that he may not be removed from the U.S. and must remain in ICE custody within 200 miles of the courthouse in Greenbelt.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. to determine the government’s legal authority to remove him, whether there’s been adequate protection or a fair opportunity to seek relief and what risks he may face if sent to Uganda compared to other countries.

The court will also hear testimony from witnesses brought from both sides. The government must submit its initial witness list by Oct. 2 and a final list by Oct. 3.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys are additionally seeking to impose a gag order on Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying their public comments alleging him of being an MS-13 gang leader, domestic abuser and human trafficker could jeopardize his right to a fair trial, according to court records filed on Thursday.

A DHS official responded to The Hill on Friday morning.

“If Kilmar Abrego Garcia did not want to be mentioned by the Secretary of Homeland Security, then he should have not entered our country illegally and committed heinous crimes,” a DHS official told The Hill on Friday morning.

The El Salvador native was granted a “withholding of removal” by a judge as he sought to escape gang persecution in his home country.

Despite this, in March 2025, the Trump administration put him on a plane along with other suspected gang members, alleging him to be a member of the MS-13 gang, and sent him to El Salvador’s most notorious prison for gang members.

A government attorney admitted the deportation was an “administrative error” before the administration retracted that statement and fired the attorney, who later filed a whistleblower complaint.

Outrage from federal judges, politicians and communities members led to court rulings that went all the way to the Supreme Court, eventually leading to his return to the U.S. He was detained upon arrival and hit with smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.

A court order brought him back to Maryland, where he surrendered to ICE custody.

An ultimatum from the administration offered a short-lived plea deal, which would’ve required Abrego Garcia to plead guilty to human smuggling, serve jail time and then be deported to Costa Rica.

His refusal led the administration to seek his deportation to Uganda, and prompted Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to seek asylum in the U.S.