A U.S. immigration judge has denied Kilmar Abrego García’s bid to reopen his 2019 asylum case, ruling that his application is ineligible under current law.
Abrego García, a Salvadoran national who has been living in Maryland with an American spouse and children, initially entered the U.S. without documentation as a teenager. In 2019, he filed for asylum but was rejected due to waiting more than one year; nevertheless, he was granted protection from deportation to El Salvador because of credible threats from gangs.
In March 2025, he was deported to El Salvador despite the protection order. After a federal court intervened, he was returned to the U.S. in June and faced criminal charges in Tennessee for alleged human smuggling.
With the judge’s recent decision, Abrego García has 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. If he does not, his removal order will remain in effect, increasing the likelihood that he will face deportation or transfer to a third country.