WASHINGTON—Two federal judges on July 23 ordered that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador subject to a high-profile prosecution by the United States, be released from federal custody and permitted to return to his family in Maryland.
Abrego Garcia, 30, was first removed to El Salvador on March 15 following the government’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, and detained in the maximum security prison Terrorism Confinement Center in that country—prompting opposition from Democrats and illegal immigrant advocacy groups—before being returned to the United States to face felony smuggling charges in Tennessee.
The U.S. government has indicated that it seeks to remove Abrego Garcia, once again, from the country and would detain him if released from criminal custody in Tennessee, where he is presently located….