Abrego Garcia supporters hope release from ICE custody is a "turning point"
Kilmar Abrego Garcia's supporters are applauding after he was released from immigration custody on Thursday.
The Salvadoran native, who was placed in ICE custody after leaving a job in Baltimore, was let out of a detention facility in Pennsylvania, according to his attorney.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted Abrego Garcia's habeas corpus petition seeking release from custody. The Maryland judge argued the Trump administration has been detaining him without an official order to deport him.
"It's a moment of joy"
In a statement, Abrego Garcia's attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg praised Xinis's ruling.
"We remain hopeful that this marks a turning point for Mr. Abrego Garcia," Sandoval-Moshenberg said. "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."
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen -- who visited Abrego Garcia when he was detained in El Salvador -- also 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."
Abrego Garcia is facing federal criminal charges in Tennessee. There was supposed to be a hearing in that case on Monday, but it was canceled.
His trial for those charges is currently set for January.
Breaking down the order
Judge Xinis made it clear on her ruling's first page.
"The Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia's Petition for immediate release from ICE custody," the order reads.
In the 30 pages that followed, Xinis detailed the Trump administration's attempts to deport Abrego Garcia to four different African countries -- despite Costa Rica being an option.
Aside from Costa Rica publicly saying it would take him, Abrego Garcia and his lawyer said he'd even be willing to take the next plane there if ordered.
However, Xinis said in her ruling that the Trump administration's "calculated effort to take Costa Rica off the table backfired."
"[The Trump administration] did not just stonewall. They affirmatively misled the tribunal," Xinis said. "[The Trump administration's] conduct over the past months belies that his detention has been for the basic purpose of effectuating removal, lending further support that Abrego Garcia should be held no longer."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration will fight this.
"The White House, the administration, oppose this activism from a judge who is really acting as a judicial activist," she said. "Which we've unfortunately seen in many cases across the country."