An immigration judge last 1 October denied a motion filed by Kilmar Abrego Garcia's attorneys to reopen his immigration case, according to a copy of the decision obtained by ABC News.
In the emergency motion filed in August to reopen the case, attorneys for the wrongly deported Abrego Garcia argued that because he was deported to El Salvador and then brought back to the United States, he is now eligible to apply for asylum within one year of his last entry into the U.S.
But in the order filed on 1 October, Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Philip Taylor said that Abrego Garcia's motion to reopen his motion to seek asylum is "untimely" because he filed the motion nearly six years after his immigration proceedings -- beyond the 90-day deadline required.
Judge Taylor also concluded there is "insufficient evidence" that the Department of Homeland Security has decided to remove Abrego Garcia to Uganda, Eswatini, or any other third country, after the DHS sent Abrego Garcia's attorneys a notice in August saying the agency may deport their client to Uganda.
"The word 'may' is permissive and indicates to the Court that in sending this notification to Respondent's counsel, the Department sought to convey that it reserved the right to remove him to Uganda, not necessarily that it intended to do so, that it had decided to do so, or that it would do so imminently," Judge Taylor said.
The immigration judge also said that evidence Abrego Garcia provided in his motion arguing for protection due to his fear that he will be tortured or killed by the Salvadoran government because he's been labeled an MS-13 gang member is "insufficient."
Judge Taylor said that when Abrego Garcia was detained in El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison, he was not subjected to "the conditions described in his country conditions evidence," and added that Abrego Garcia indicated that he was not "specifically singled out" by CECOT guards "before his mistreatment started or while it was taking place."
"Respondent also does not indicate that the guards made any statements or otherwise indicated that they believed him or the other deportees to be gang members, so they do not appear to have imputed MS-13 gang membership to him," Judge Taylor said. "Notably, while prison officials interrogated Respondent about his alleged gang membership and took pictures of his tattoos, they did not mistreat him during the interrogation."
In a post on the social media platform X, the DHS said Abrego Garcia's final order of removal stands after the immigration judge's decision.
"His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S. but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country," DHS said in the post.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who had been living illegally in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March to CECOT. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family and attorneys deny.