Kilmar Abrego Garcia appears in Maryland court amid ongoing federal deportation effort

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was back in court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Tuesday as the federal government continued to pursue its effort to deport him to Liberia. 

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, has been in the spotlight for over a year after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, returned, and then charged with human smuggling in Tennessee. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and asked a judge to dismiss the case. 

He now faces a second deportation effort, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) saying that it intends to deport him to an African country, despite an agreement with Costa Rica to take some deportees. 

WJZ has reached out to  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a statement. 

Motion's hearing appearance

Abrego Garcia appeared for a hearing on the motion Tuesday, where U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis considered whether ICE could take him back into custody and deport him. 

A decision was not made on Tuesday, with Abrego Garcia's attorney calling the case a "stalemate." 

"Since March, they've essentially frustrated the judge from even ruling on that motion time and time again by filing an appeal that the judge is considering whether it's a frivolous appeal," said attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. 

Abrego Garcia previously designated Costa Rica as his preferred country of removal, and the country agreed to accept him, his attorney said. 

"They were hoping that they were going to get the judge to reverse herself, reverse her orders and allow them to take Mr. Abrego Garcia out the back door," Sandoval-Moshenberg said. "Instead, today really fizzled out and nothing happened and the status quo continues." 

Re-deportation effort 

Judge Xinis previously prohibited ICE from deporting or re-detaining Abrego Garcia. 

She noted that ICE has no real plan to deport Abrego Garcia, saying, "One empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success."

ICE has argued that Abrego Garcia should be sent to Liberia because the U.S. has already spent resources to negotiate with the country to accept some deportees. Abrego Garcia does not have ties to Liberia. 

Following his mistaken deportation, Abrego Garcia was released from ICE detention in December 2025 and returned to his home in Maryland with his wife, an American national, and child. 

He was initially deported despite a 2019 court order that should have prevented his deportation to his native country.