Appeals court denies DOJ bid to block return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador prison

A federal appeals court on Thursday denied the Trump administration‘s emergency request to block a judge’s order requiring the U.S. government to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador with a violent criminal history and alleged gang ties, who was deported to the El Salvadoran mega prison “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) last month.

The ruling allows the lower court’s order to move forward for now.

The case involves Abrego Garcia, a “Maryland man” who was deported but whose return was ordered by a district judge after a recent Supreme Court decision. The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to lift a judge’s order to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return from CECOT, but the court on Thursday rejected the request.

The three-judge panel included Judge Harvie Wilkinson, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, along with Judges Robert King and Stephanie Thacker, appointed by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, respectively. 

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In the court’s opinion, Wilkinson repeatedly referred to Abrego Garcia as a “resident,” even though Abrego Garcia is not a lawful U.S. resident.

“The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order,” Wilkinson wrote.

“This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.”

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Court documents and police records show Abrego Garcia has a history of domestic violence, including repeated physical abuse against his wife. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also identified him as a member of the MS-13 gang, using the street name “Chele.”

The court said the DOJ’s request was “extraordinary and premature” and that it would not interfere with the district judge’s efforts to carry out the Supreme Court’s decision.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Abrego Garcia would not be allowed back into the U.S. unless El Salvador were to decide otherwise. “He is not coming back to our country.”

The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.