A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement may not take Kilmar Abrego Garcia back into custody, finding that the legally permitted 90-day detention window has lapsed and that the government lacks a realistic path to deport him.

Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, has drawn national attention in the ongoing immigration debate after he was erroneously deported to his native country last year. Following his return to the United States, he has been contesting renewed efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to remove him, this time to several African nations.

In her order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland sharply criticized the government’s handling of the case. The government “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,” she wrote. “From this, the Court easily concludes that there is no ‘good reason to believe’ removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.”

Abrego Garcia, who is married to an American citizen and has a child, has lived in Maryland for many years. He entered the United States unlawfully as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge determined that he could not be returned to El Salvador due to credible threats from a gang that had targeted his family. Despite that ruling, he was mistakenly deported there last year.

Amid mounting public scrutiny and under court direction, President Donald Trump’s administration arranged for his return in June. His reentry, however, followed a federal indictment in Tennessee accusing him of human smuggling. Abrego Garcia has entered a plea of not guilty. At the same time, administration officials have maintained that he will not be allowed to remain in the United States, stating in court filings that they have sought to deport him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, or Liberia.