Updated Feb. 17, 2026, 8:42 p.m. ETThe Trump administration can't re-detain Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia as officials have threatened deporting him to Africa, a federal judge ruled Feb. 17.In an order, federal Judge Paula Xinis, of Maryland, said the government "made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success."Xinis ruled officials can’t take Abrego Garcia − whose deportation to El Salvador against a judicial order last year became a lightning rod for critics of Trump's deportation agenda − back into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody."From this, the Court easily concludes that there is no ‘good reason to believe’ removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future," Xinis wrote.In 2025, Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father, found himself at the center of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts to remove migrants to a Salvadoran mega-prison. In March, the administration mistakenly deported him to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, despite a 2019 order preventing his removal to his home country.After court orders, the Trump administration returned him to the United States, only to try to deport him to several African countries. Xinis on Dec. 11 ordered Abrego Garcia released from immigrant detention.In her Feb. 17 order, Xinis, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, said a 90-day detention period to remove Abrego Garcia had expired, warranting his conitnued freedom. Meanwhile, officials have said they’d deport him to one of several countries, including Liberia, Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana. But Xinis said officials haven’t secured travel documents to deport him to a third country.It wasn't immediately clear if federal officials planned to appeal the ruling.“If this matter were actually about the law or due process, Kilmar Abrego Garcia would already be deported and would never set foot in this country again," Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement, adding "Judge Xinis will not be satisfied until he is authorized to live in the United States forever."Abrego Garcia previously indicated he would accept removal to Costa Rica – where the country’s officials said they’d accept him as a refugee – but Xinis said administration officials ignored this.Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, said the government has tried "one trick after another to try to get him re-detained," and Xinis has "patiently and methodically" swatted all of them down."In her decision today, she recognized that if the government were truly trying to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the United States, they would have sent him to Costa Rica long before today," Sandoval-Moshenberg said in an email, adding he hoped the government didn’t appeal the order and instead agreed to work out details of a removal plan to Costa Rica.Abrego Garcia faces an ongoing criminal case related to a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. Federal prosecutors filed human smuggling charges after his return from El Salvador in 2025. He has pleaded not guilty.(This story has been updated to add new information.)Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.