U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in December 2025, ruling that the Trump administration lacked a valid legal removal order and had detained him “without lawful authority.” The Salvadoran national, who was deported to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison in March despite a 2019 court order protecting him, returned to the United States in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, which he has denied.
Following his release, a federal judge imposed a strict gag order on the Department of Homeland Security and other Trump administration officials, prohibiting them from making public statements about Abrego Garcia’s case that could prejudice his right to a fair trial. The gag order came after senior officials including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made numerous extrajudicial statements calling Abrego Garcia an MS-13 gang member, a “monster,” and a trafficker—claims he has denied.
Since his release, Abrego Garcia has begun posting religious music videos on TikTok, including lip-sync to Danny Berrios’ “Himno de Victoria” and other Christian Spanish-language songs, with some videos garnering nearly half a million views. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded with frustration on social media, stating: “So we, at @HSgov, are under a gag order by an activist judge and Kilmar Abrego Garcia is making TikToks,” claiming the situation demonstrates that “American justice ceases to function when its arbiters silence law enforcement.”
The social media backlash has been critical, with critics echoing the DHS official’s frustration that Abrego Garcia is posting content while the federal agency remains restricted from public commentary, while leftist supporters have expressed relief at his freedom and show solidarity on his posts. A federal judge this week canceled Abrego Garcia’s trial and scheduled a hearing to determine whether prosecutors are pursuing the human smuggling charges vindictively, following allegations that the investigation began only after a federal court ruled the Trump administration lacked authority to deport him.
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