Kilmar Abrego Garcia requests U.S. asylum, deportation delayed

Kilmar Abrego Garcia plans to seek asylum in the United States, his lawyers said Wednesday during a status conference in his ongoing wrongful deportation lawsuit. He cannot be deported again while the lawsuit plays out, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said from a Maryland courtroom on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

Xinis will determine if Abrego Garcia can legally contest his deportation. A separate immigration judge will hear his asylum case. Xinis set Abrego Garcia’s next hearing for October, according to ABC News.

What’s the background on the case? Abrego Garcia, originally from El Salvador, lived under temporary legal status in Maryland before his March deportation to El Salvador. The Trump administration accused him of being a part of the violent MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia denies those allegations. Amid his ongoing deportation lawsuit, he was eventually brought back to the United States to face federal charges that included human smuggling. He denied the charges. Authorities in Tennessee released him from custody to await his trial. Immigration enforcement agents arrested Abrego Garcia on Monday, after his return to Maryland, and planned to process him for deportation to Uganda before Judge Xinis’ order.

Dig deeper: Read my report on Abrego Garcia’s Monday arrest.