Judge Releases Illegal Migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, ‘Maryland Man’



by Neil Munro 22 Aug 2025

Pro-migration groups have persuaded a judge to release El Salvadoran illegal migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, months after Democrats tried to run away from the alleged wife-beating trafficker that they first championed as “Maryland Man.”

ABC News reported:

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported in March before being brought back to the U.S., has been released from criminal custody in Tennessee and is on his way to Maryland, an attorney for Abrego Garcia told ABC News.

The Salvadoran native has been in criminal custody since the federal government brought him back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges.

Once he is is released, immigration authorities will not be allowed to detain Abrego Garcia due to a ruling from a federal judge who last month ordered the government to return him to Maryland and blocked the administration from deporting him upon his release in Tennessee.

The judge released the man amid claims that he was improperly sent home to El Salvador, despite the sudden end of the gang battles that he claimed in 2019 would endanger his life.

Many Democrats rallied around the illegal migrant, despite accusations that he beat his wife several times, served as a street hustler for the dangerous MS-13 gang, and worked as an illegal labor trafficker over several years.

But the fight is a clear political loser for Democrats: A June poll by Harvard/Harris shows that 62 percent of registered voters say he is “likely a[n] MS-13 gang member.”

The administration and GOP legislators are eager for more media drama about Abrego Garcia, partly because it forces the media to spotlight the many economic, civic, and crime problems caused by the Democrat Party’s pro-migration appointees and staffers.

Since May, Democrats and their allied media outlets have largely ignored the legal disputes over the man they dubbed “Maryland Man” and instead argue that the debate is over “due process” rights for migrants facing deportation.

On Friday, Abrego Garcia’s biggest champion on the Hill, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), did not immediately celebrate the release.

But migration supporter Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) celebrated the release:

Rep. Pramila Jayapal



@RepJayapal
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This is fantastic news and I am thrilled for Kilmar Abrego Garcia! The Trump administration must stop their unfounded investigations and let his family remain together.

ABC News
@ABC

BREAKING: Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from criminal custody in Tennessee and is on his way to Maryland, an attorney for Abrego Garcia told ABC News. https://abcnews.link/pb9oIXr



2:50 PM · Aug 22, 2025

GOP-aligned influencers eagerly spotlighted the release:

Nick Sortor
@nicksortor
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BREAKING: Kilmar Abrego Garcia has just been RELEASED by a federal judge and is back on American streets

A wife-beating, human traffcking, ILLEGAL, MS-13 gang member from EL SALVADOR is on his way to Maryland as we speak

THIS IS INSANE!

Our justice system needs an OVERHAUL!



https://twitter.com/i/status/1958958240274030879

2:23 PM · Aug 22, 2025

https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/08/22/judge-releases-illegal-migrant-kilmar-abrego-garcia/