The Trump administration may have finally outmatched the legal team representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, if what’s being reported tonight pans out. 

Readers might recall that the alleged MS-13 gang member and human trafficker from El Salvador was released from jail by a Tennessee judge on Aug. 22 and immediately returned to Maryland.

Then on Aug. 28,  Abrego Garcia was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with all signs pointing to his next destination being Uganda. But as my colleague Bonchie wrote, a judge appointed by former Pres. Barack Obama ordered a temporary block of the deportation:

In response, Abrego-Garcia’s lawyers immediately filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Now, Judge Paula Xinis, a Barack Obama appointee, has stepped in and stopped his latest deportation, claiming there are “several grounds” on which she may provide relief. 

At a hearing Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered that Abrego must remain stay detained in the U.S. — temporarily blocking his deportation to Uganda — until she holds an evidentiary hearing. 

The judge said there are “several grounds” on which there may be jurisdiction for her to exercise relief — including that Uganda has not agreed to offer Abrego protections, like being able to walk freely, being given refugee status and not being re-deported to El Salvador.