A Maryland federal judge handling the civil case of wrongly deported Salvadoran citizen Kilmar Abrego Garcia ordered his "immediate release from ICE custody" Thursday, slamming the Trump administration for holding him "without lawful authority," "affirmatively" misleading the court on Costa Rica's willingness to accept him as a refugee, and concluding an order for his removal from the U.S. does not exist.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted Abrego Garcia's petition for release, noting he will remain subject to the conditions he faces in a criminal human smuggling case in Tennessee , a prosecution that the defendant claims was vindictively brought because his civil case brought embarrassment upon the U.S. government.

Xinis, a Barack Obama appointee, in a 31-page opinion explained that

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