US judge orders Kilmar Abrego released from immigration detention


WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered Kilmar Abrego, whose wrongful deportation became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, released from immigration detention ⁠as he awaits a potential second deportation.

The ⁠order from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis means that Abrego ‍will at least temporarily be allowed to return to his Maryland home despite repeated declarations from Trump administration officials that he would never again be free in the U.S.

The judge’s decision to free Abrego marked the latest major development in a saga that began in March when Abrego was wrongfully deported to a prison in his native El Salvador and then brought back ;to the U.S. in June ‍to face human smuggling charges. His case has become a ‍symbol of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown, with Trump officials portraying Abrego as a danger to public safety and critics accusing the administration of trampling legal rights ⁠in its bid to deport millions living illegally in the ‍United States.

Abrego, ​30, has been held in immigration detention since August, when immigration authorities arrested him shortly after being released from custody in his criminal case. Xinis ;found that he was entitled to release ⁠in ‍part because an immigration judge had not issued a formal deportation order ‍in 2019, when he was barred from being ;deported to ‍El Salvador because ​of a risk of gang persecution. 

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)