Come on, what does it take to get rid of this guy? As this editor reported last September, Maryland man and BFF of Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was finally getting set to be deported. ICE said he was bound for Uganda, but after Garcia said he was “fearful” of persecution in Uganda and 20 other countries, ICE settled on the African country Eswatini. As of October, Garcia’s final order of removal stood as a judge denied a motion to reopen his case. But he's still here, making cringe lip-sync TikTok videos without a care in the world.
This editor honestly doesn't know what's going on. In December, a federal judge ordered ICE to immediately release him. Garcia held a press conference and, through a translator, sounded like he was giving a Democratic Party campaign speech.
Now, the Associated Press is reporting that a judge has ruled that the United States can't take Garcia back into immigration custody. He's here illegally and facing charges of human trafficking.
BREAKING: The U.S. can't take Kilmar Abrego Garcia back into immigration custody because it doesn't have a viable plan to deport him, judge says. https://t.co/QGxwBZvJ3R
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 17, 2026
Again, why did we vote for a president in 2024 when judges make all of the decisions? Travis Loller reports:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia because a 90-day detention period has expired and the government has no viable plan for deporting him, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
The Salvadoran national’s case has become a focal point in the immigration debate after he was mistakenly deported to his home country last year. Since his return, he has been fighting a second deportation to a series of African countries proposed by Department of Homeland Security officials.
The government “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, in Maryland, wrote in her Tuesday order. “From this, the Court easily concludes that there is no ‘good reason to believe’ removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.”
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At this point, there is no good reason to believe removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future — not with this judicial system.
So, the judge reasons that ICE detention is not meant to be a punishment but a way to facilitate deportation, and she saw no "viable deportation plan" for Garcia. The latest is that Costa Rica has agreed to take him.
"They don't have a viable plan."
— American Viking (@BourbonAndSavvy) February 17, 2026
"Also, we decide if the plan is viable."
"Also, each judge might change the definition of what is viable."
I have a plan. It involves a parachute.
— Veterans for Liberty (@Vets4AP) February 17, 2026
They not only had a viable plan, they had already deported him.
— Wyatt Gouldthorpe (@WyattGouldthor1) February 17, 2026
There is a plan. The plan consists of putting him outside of the US border.
— Ric Ya (@_Ric_Ya) February 17, 2026
@seanspicer the amazing undeportable man has a new episode
— Cadessbor-x (@CadessborX) February 17, 2026
I have a viable plan to get rid of him.
— Enjoy it. (@dealwithitsmith) February 17, 2026
US wants him to go to Africa, but he wants to go to Costa Rica. At this point, just get rid of him.
— cr_clark (@cr_clark) February 17, 2026
Whom should I call with my credit card information? I'm sure a ticket to Costa Rica isn't very expensive. I'll even spring for business class.
— Save the Climate: EAT GRETA (@myrn1ck) February 17, 2026
We'd already gotten rid of him by "mistakenly" sending him back to his home country. Apparenty, he and his attorney get to decide if and where he gets deported.
This judge has no authority to rule on immigration issues.
— Ben Peterson (@jazzfan71) February 17, 2026
Hot new Calvinball rule just dropped and once again it coincidentally only benefits illegal aliens https://t.co/nXvAJ8DabU
— Sunny (@sunnyright) February 17, 2026
There was a viable deportation plan. It had all been set up with Eswatini. This editor honestly doesn't understand why this guy is like a herpes virus.
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