Deportation Hearing for Kilmar Ábrego Garcia Abruptly Canceled Amid Legal Standoff
A court hearing regarding the potential deportation of Kilmar Ábrego Garcia to Liberia was suddenly canceled. Follow the latest updates on this legal case.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — A pivotal court hearing intended to determine the future of Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national previously deported by mistake, was unexpectedly called off on Tuesday without any official explanation.
The proceedings were set to address a government motion to vacate a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis. This current legal order prevents U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from detaining or removing Ábrego Garcia to Liberia.
Although Ábrego Garcia was present in the courtroom, Judge Xinis did not take the bench. Attorneys for both sides exited the room five minutes before the scheduled start time, and after a 15-minute conference, the hearing was formally canceled.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney for the 31-year-old, told reporters that the session could not proceed as planned. He stated, “Unfortunately, the court was unable to go forward today,” and noted that further details would be provided on the court docket soon.
The case has become a flashpoint in the national immigration debate. After being wrongfully expelled to El Salvador in 2025, Ábrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. following public outcry and a judicial directive. He is now resisting federal efforts to send him to Liberia, arguing he should instead be sent to Costa Rica.
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In a March 2026 memo, former acting ICE director Todd Lyons argued that sending the man to Costa Rica would be “prejudicial to the United States,” citing the government’s investment in securing a deportation agreement with Liberia.
Jossie Flor Sapunar, national communications director for We Are CASA, criticized the government’s stance. “The government is leading the same rodeo as many times before. Sending Kilmar to Costa Rica is on the table. However, the government continues to punish him for pursuing his constitutional rights and seeks to ship him to Liberia,” she said, adding that “Kilmar has become an international symbol of due process, a symbol which the Trump administration wants to silence.”
Outside the courthouse, supporters gathered to demonstrate, including Nadine Seiler, who expressed frustration with the government’s approach. It’s not about policy. It’s about cruelty, she remarked.
Ábrego Garcia, who has lived in Maryland for years with his wife and child, was previously held in a Salvadoran mega-prison after an administrative error led to his initial deportation. While a federal judge dismissed human smuggling charges against him in May 2026, the government is currently appealing that decision.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
