Asylum Request of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Rejected

() An immigration judge Wednesday denied an asylum bid from Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The judge in Baltimore rejected an application to reopen Abrego Garcia’s 2019 asylum case. Abrego Garcia, however, has 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The Salvadoran national has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the United States illegally as a teenager. In 2019, he was arrested by immigration agents. He requested asylum but was not eligible because he had been in the U.S. for more than a year. But the judge ruled he could not be deported to El Salvador, where he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family.

He was deported to El Salvador by President Donald Trump’s administration in March and was held in a notorious prison, and his case soon became a rallying point for those who oppose the Republican president’s immigration crackdown. Facing a ruling from the Supreme Court, the administration returned him to the U.S. in June, only to immediately charge him with human smuggling.

Trump administration officials have waged a relentless public relations campaign against Abrego Garcia, repeatedly referring to him as a member of the MS-13 gang, among other things, despite the fact he has not been convicted of any crimes.

His lawyers have filed motions requesting a gag order and say he will not be able to receive a fair trial because of the “highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and false statements” made about him.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.