From Fox News: A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody — an update that comes just days before he is slated to appear in Nashville for a key court date in a separate criminal case.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis agreed to convert her previous emergency order blocking ICE from immediately re-detaining Abrego Garcia into a longer-term form of injunctive relief sought by his lawyers.
She said Tuesday that the Trump administration failed to provide the court with any “good reason to believe” that they plan to remove him to a third country in the “reasonably foreseeable future.” Instead, she said, they “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.”
The order clears the way for Abrego Garcia to participate in a key hearing in Nashville next week on whether a separate federal judge should dismiss his criminal case on the grounds of “vindictive” and selective prosecution.
READ MORE from Fox News.
ABOUT THIS JUDGE: Paula Xinis is a United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. She was appointed in 2016 by President Barack Obama.
Paula Xinis is a U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2016. She is known for her notable rulings, including a significant case involving the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Is anyone else getting tired of Judicial… pic.twitter.com/4kduus1Agi
— Brody62 (@Christi57379096) February 17, 2026
A judge rules ICE cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia because a 90-day detention period has expired and the government has no viable plan for deporting him. https://t.co/kcKmVKf7vT
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 17, 2026
Just when I thought these judges could not get any more corrupt. Corrupt District Court Judge Paula Xinis ordered ICE not to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia because they have not stated to where they will deport him.
— John Reese – Person of Interest (@Rickisback_ON_X) February 17, 2026
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