Abrego Garcia says government can’t re-arrest him despite recent deportation order

Published January 6, 2026 6:23pm ET



Kilmar Abrego Garcia told a federal judge Monday evening that the Trump administration still does not have the legal authority to take him back into immigration custody, even after an immigration judge ordered him deported last month.

The latest claims by the Salvadoran national in court pertain to two separate rulings issued on the same day, Dec. 11, by two different judges. That morning, an immigration judge entered a removal order against Abrego Garcia in immigration court. Later that day, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, ruling in a separate federal habeas case, ordered Abrego Garcia released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, finding that the government lacked a lawful basis to continue detaining him at the time.

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