Abrego Garcia can remain free at least through end of the month

Jimmy Jenkins and Zoe Tillman, Bloomberg News on Dec 22, 2025

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Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia will remain free at least through the end of the month after a federal judge sought more information on whether the United States plans to detain or deport him again.

Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland, asked the Department of Justice for additional details and set a schedule through Dec. 30. Abrego Garcia appeared at the court in person, but not in custody, for the first time Monday morning as he seeks to remain free while fighting criminal charges and attempts to deport him.

“It’s clear that the government is willing to do whatever it takes to put this man back in a detention center,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, a lawyer for Abrego Garcia, said after the hearing.

Abrego Garcia became a key figure in the U.S. crackdown on immigration after he filed a high-profile lawsuit in March challenging his accidental deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador, part of a broader program of controversial mass deportations.

After being returned to the U.S., Abrego Garcia was hit with human smuggling charges that he says are retaliation for filing that suit. He now argues that U.S. officials are threatening to deport him again as payback for refusing to quickly plead guilty.

Xinis ordered Garcia’s release earlier this month citing a lack of legal grounds for his detention. She extended the order at Monday’s hearing until she can determine the government’s plans for the Salvadoran.

Attorneys for Abrego Garcia told the judge that upon his release earlier this month, he was handed an order of supervision, which would normally indicate that there was a final order of removal against him. Ernesto Molina, an attorney for the government, told Xinis that there was no final removal order, and that Abrego Garcia had been given the document in error.

“Once again I am making a finding that these representations that are misrepresentations are in bad faith,” Xinis said, warning the government to “be careful what you write.”

Dozens of supporters singing songs holding signs that said “Justice for Kilmar” and “Stop kidnapping my neighbors!” gathered outside the courthouse to greet Abrego Garcia as he arrived Monday afternoon amid heightened security.

Helen Kaiser, a volunteer with Bend The Arc: Jewish Action of Maryland, said Abrego Garcia’s detention was an injustice.

“We are here to defend him,” Kaiser said. “We have to stand up in this case and cases like it all over the country.”