Abrego Garcia: Can I Have Asylum Now, Please?

This is a “corrupt government,” but Kilmar Abrego Garcia is really hoping that the United States will just let him stay here, please and thank you very much.

Abrego Garcia was released from custody in Tennessee last week to return to Maryland. Tennessee is where he is being tried on the human trafficking charges. His lawyers had a hard time deciding if he should stay in custody there, or if he should be returned to Maryland – where he would be subject to arrest by ICE. Remember, he still has a standing deportation order – he just can’t be deported back to his native El Salvador (due to his concerns regarding his safety, which includes being a target of a rival gang due to his alleged participation in the murder of a gang leader’s mother). Once Abrego Garcia returned to Maryland, he was ordered to report to the local ICE office, where he was taken into custody by immigration officials.

He doesn’t belong here.
He won’t be staying here.
America is a safer nation without this MS-13 Gangbanger in it.

Good riddance. pic.twitter.com/ecldKZvuw3

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 26, 2025

In a video posted by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, Kilmar Abrego Garcia can be heard saying the words “gobierno corrupto,” which is Spanish for “corrupt government.”

In the footage, the Salvadoran man is seen bound by restraints while being escorted by an individual wearing a vest that reads, “POLICE ICE.”

Abrego Garcia and his lawyers apparently declined a plea deal that would have him plead guilty to the charges in Tennessee, and then deport him to Costa Rica after serving his sentence. The Supreme Court recently upheld that yes, illegals could be deported to “third country” locations, where the person in question has no ties to the country. Abrego Garcia didn’t take the plea deal, but has now changed his mind after the government said “fine, we’ll send you to Uganda.” Apparently Abrego Garcia had a change of heart and now Costa Rica is his first choice for deportation! His lawyer is busy complaining about the idea of him being sent to Uganda.

Since the plan was to send him to Uganda (and yes, English is the official language in Uganda), Abrego Garcia and his lawyers are back in court in front of their favorite judge. Judge Paula Xinis is still in charge of his Maryland case, and has now declared that he cannot be deported at all, for any reason, unless she says so because REASONS. Oh, and she’s delaying everything until October.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said Wednesday she will extend her temporary restraining blocking his removal until Abrego Garcia’s latest deportation challenge in court is resolved.

Judge Xinis scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Oct. 6 in the case challenging Abrego Garcia’s potential deportation to Uganda. She said during a hearing on Wednesday that she will issue a ruling within 30 days of the Oct. 6 hearing.

The judge also said that Abrego Garcia, who is currently being held in a detention center in Virginia, must remain in custody within a 200-mile radius of the court in Maryland.

Judge Xinis said she will not order Abrego Garcia released from immigration custody, saying that issue should be decided by an immigration judge. On Monday, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys moved to reopen his immigration case and apply for asylum.

Attorneys for Abrego Garcia filed an emergency motion Monday to reopen his immigration case in order to seek asylum, arguing that because Abrego Garcia was deported and then brought back to the U.S., he is now eligible to apply for asylum within one year of his last entry into the U.S.

In the filing, the attorneys also said that reopening the case is warranted to allow Abrego Garcia to designate Costa Rica as the country of removal should be be deported.

That’s a clever little bit of spin to re-open the asylum case. Too bad he tried it already and was denied the first time.

The fact that he already applied for asylum and was rejected by an immigration judge seems rather relevant. There is nothing that has changed since then which would make it more likely he would qualify for asylum now. https://t.co/XY2kf8NHHN

— AG (@AGHamilton29) August 27, 2025

To claim that NOW he is filing for asylum “in a timely fashion” is a joke. He was in custody the entire time he was out of the country, and he argued that being in El Salvador was illegal anyway because of the removal order. And no one should forget that the Tennessee charges of human trafficking are still there, and that he was only released to await trial. There is no compelling reason to grant Abrego Garcia asylum, especially while he is currently charged with a felony. But Judge Xinis has no jurisdiction over the asylum case, and is only ruling on his rights to contest deportation. Will her ruling stand until October?

Re the Govt not opposing a schedule in the Abrego Garcia matter in the Dist. of Maryland that takes it out past early Oct. when the judge set an evidentiary hearing.

1. I expect the Govt will file a motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds long before we get to that point.…

— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) August 27, 2025

The full post reads:

Re the Govt not opposing a schedule in the Abrego Garcia matter in the Dist. of Maryland that takes it out past early Oct. when the judge set an evidentiary hearing.

1. I expect the Govt will file a motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds long before we get to that point.

2. As I’ve said in Spaces about this case, I do not think the Admin. really cares too much about how this one particular case plays out as long as KAG is in custody. There is no particular urgency in resolving KAG’s status because the case is a “one-off” caused by the Gov’t own initial error in sending him to El Salvador. It does not serve as a basis upon which other deportees can attempt to climb on board with similar arguments.

At the end of the day he’s going to be deported, and he’s almost certainly going to remain in ICE detention until that happens.

Xinis would probably love to be able to release him, but since she can’t, the best she can do is order him to stay within 200 miles of her courtroom. The drama will continue to play out, and even if it takes until October and he ends up in Costa Rica, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is going to be leaving. Maybe his wife should start looking into finding a home in Costa Rica. Or Uganda. Maybe Zohran Mamdani can hook him up with some free housing there!

Featured image: Senator Chris Van Hollen and Kilmar Abrego Garcia, cropped, public domain

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