In a significant setback to the alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia's efforts to remain in the United States, an immigration judge has rejected his plea to reopen his deportation case.
Abrego Garcia had lodged an emergency motion in August to revisit his immigration case, contending that he is now eligible to apply for asylum since he returned to the U.S. after being deported to his native El Salvador. However, Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Philip Taylor dismissed the illegal immigrant's motion as "untimely," given that it comes nearly six years after his immigration proceedings, as per court documents acquired by ABC News.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) publicly affirmed the decision. "With today's ruling, Kilmar Abrego Garcia's final order of removal stands," the DHS declared on social media, as reported by the Daily Caller. The DHS painted a grim picture of Abrego Garcia, describing him as an "MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, domestic abuser, and child predator" who will no longer pose a threat to American society.
Abrego Garcia's legal team had made attempts to prevent his removal from the U.S., but the DHS made it clear that the Salvadoran man would not be allowed to remain in the country. "He will never be allowed to prey on innocent Americans again," the DHS continued.
The Department of Justice, which supervises the immigration court system, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Foreign nationals generally have one year to apply for asylum after entering the country. Abrego Garcia's application for asylum was rejected in 2019 while in removal proceedings, but he was granted a withholding of removal at the time. His legal team attempted to argue that his deportation and subsequent return this year made him eligible to apply for asylum again.
Abrego Garcia became a prominent figure in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown when he was deported to El Salvador in March and briefly detained in the country's notorious mega-prison. Following vehement public protest from Democrats, the illegal immigrant was brought back to the U.S. to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee.
Federal prosecutors insist that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member who spent his time in the U.S. smuggling illegal migrants, drugs, and guns across the country, as per a grand jury indictment. The human smuggling charges originate from a 2022 Tennessee highway stop where local law enforcement apprehended him transporting eight passengers across the country, all of whom had no luggage and provided Abrego Garcia's address as their own.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Abrego Garcia's wife and a vocal defender since his first deportation, had repeatedly accused him of domestic abuse in 2020 and 2021. She alleged that he physically assaulted her multiple times, including punching and scratching her eye, dragging her out of a vehicle, and other alleged beatings.
Sura has since attempted to downplay her past allegations, framing them as isolated incidents.
The DHS pointedly referred to Democrats who visited El Salvador to demand Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S., stating, "Never forget the Democrats flew to a foreign land on the US taxpayers dime to break bread with this terrorist gang member and visit him in prison."
The DHS emphasized its commitment to prioritizing the safety of the American people over the interests of "criminal illegal aliens."
The Trump administration is currently seeking to deport Abrego Garcia from the U.S. while his alleged human smuggling activity is being tried in a Tennessee courtroom. Although the withholding of removal order prevents the DHS from deporting Abrego Garcia back to El Salvador, the Trump administration could potentially deport him to a third country such as Costa Rica or Eswatini.
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