Judge denies Kilmar Ábrego García’s bid for asylum in the US | Kilmar Ábrego García

An immigration judge in Baltimore has denied Kilmar Ábrego García’s bid for asylum on Thursday, but he has 30 days to appeal.

Ábrego’s case has drawn national attention since the 30-year-old was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March. The Salvadorian national has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years, but he originally immigrated to the US illegally as a teenager.

Following widespread pressure, the Trump administration returned him to the US in June. Upon his return, however, he immediately faced criminal charges related to human smuggling, allegations that his lawyers have rejected.

Ábrego was released from criminal custody in Tennessee on Friday while awaiting trial. But the Trump administration announced new plans to deport him to Uganda and then Eswatini.

Then Ábrego was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) during a scheduled immigration check-in in Baltimore, which was one of the conditions of his release.

Ábrego entered the US without authorization around 2011 as a teenager. According to court documents, he was fleeing gang violence.

Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has launched a massive crackdown on immigrants across the US, including sending federal forces and the national guard to assist US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in numerous cities, nearly all of them Democrat-run.

The actions have prompted outrage from many groups, including Democrats and civic society groups.