Kilmar Abrego Garcia returns to Maryland home, supporters to rally in Baltimore on Friday
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived at his Maryland home Thursday after being released from ICE custody in Pennsylvania following a judge's order.
The Salvadoran native, who was detained last March after his shift as a sheet metal worker in Baltimore and mistakenly deported to El Salvador, was ordered to check in at the George H. Fallon Federal Building at 8 a.m. on Friday, his legal team told CBS News.
Immigration advocates and supporters will rally outside Baltimore's ICE field office on Friday morning.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted Abrego Garcia's habeas corpus petition seeking release from custody earlier Thursday. The Maryland judge said the Trump administration has been detaining him without an official order to deport him.
"Because respondents have no statutory authority to remove Abrego Garcia to a third country absent a removal order, his removal cannot be considered reasonably foreseeable, imminent, or consistent with due process," Xinis wrote in Thursday's order, according to CBS News.
The last time Abrego Garcia was released in August, in that case after being held in pre-trial detention, he was quickly taken back into immigration custody. There are concerns that he could be rearrested on different legal grounds when he appears for his ICE check-in.
Supporters celebrate Abrego Garcia's release
Abrego Garcia's attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, commended Judge Xinis's ruling, saying that they are hopeful that his release from custody is a "turning point."
"At the same time, we are mindful of the government's past conduct...and will stay vigilant to ensure that nothing undermines the court's decision," Sandoval-Moshenberg said.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen -- who visited Abrego Garcia when he was detained in El Salvador -- celebrated the ruling.
"For months, the Trump administration has sought to deny Abrego Garcia his rights," Van Hollen said in a statement. "Today's ruling is a clear repudiation of those attempts and a forceful stand for our constitution and the rights of all those in our nation."
Immigrant rights advocacy organization CASA called this a major victory for due process.
"It's a moment of joy and relief. Kilmar finally gets to return home to his family, where he belongs," said Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, CASA's chief of organizing and leadership, in a press release. "No one should be separated from their loved ones while fighting for justice."
