Just three days after his release from a Tennessee prison, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was taken into custody again on Monday following a mandatory immigration check-in at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Baltimore.
The Trump administration had announced plans to deport him to Uganda, but U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a temporary order blocking his deportation following his detainment, saying it is “absolutely forbidden at this juncture.”
The check-in was required as part of the conditions of his release from federal custody and the detainment happened just minutes after his entrance to the ICE building in Baltimore.
“There was no need for them to take him into ICE detention,” said his attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. “The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him. To punish him for exercising his constitutional rights.”
John Appiah-Duffell, a six-year resident of Greenbelt who has joined protesters at the Greenbelt U.S. District Court multiple times, wasn’t surprised that Abrego Garcia was detained so swiftly after his release.
“He’s not only a victim, he’s a witness to the crimes against humanity perpetrated by this administration. And so they are gonna do whatever they can to keep them locked up,” said Appiah-Duffell.
Many people have protested the federal government’s persecution of Abrego Garcia. In addition to the Greenbelt federal courthouse where several of his cases have been heard, large protests such as Hands-Off and No Kings in Washington, D.C., were attended by many residents of Greenbelt and other nearby communities.
Melissa Sites is a part of the Rapid Response Choir, a group that sings in protest and has done so in support of Abrego Garcia, who has lived in nearby Beltsville for 10 years.
“To me, Kilmar was literally my neighbor. And as a Greenbelter, this is not how we’re supposed to treat our neighbors. We’re supposed to take care of our neighbors,” said Sites.
Appiah-Duffell and other protesters used a slogan: “Todos somos Kilmar,” meaning “We are all Kilmar.” He says that’s not just a rallying cry, it’s true for two reasons.
“Like Kilmar,” said Appiah-Duffell, “I am just a person trying to get through my life in this world and do right by my community and my family. And also, like Kilmar, I and basically anybody else could have this happen to us.”
Appiah-Duffell noted how the administration has detained not only undocumented people, but also people who have legal status as residents. Plans to revoke citizenship from naturalized citizens, laid out in a Justice Department memo released in June, added to his concerns.
Before being detained in Baltimore, Abrego Garcia addressed supporters who had gathered outside the building. He said that seeing his family over the weekend filled him with the strength to continue fighting.
“I want to thank each and every one of you who marched. Lift your voices, never stop praying and continue to fight in my name,” said Abrego Garcia.
Will Hammann and Ellie Jornlin are University of Maryland students at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism interning at the Greenbelt News Review.
