Judge Who Granted ‘Withholding of Removal’ Order for Kilmar Abrego Garcia Favored Asylum Claims in Arrest City

U.S. Immigration Judge David M. Jones, who wrote the final deportation order which granted a “withholding of removal” for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, appeared to have favored asylum claims brought before him in the city where the deported citizen of El Salvador was arrested in 2019.

Legal decisions tracked by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a research organization at Syracuse University, reveal that Jones served on both the Hyattsville and Baltimore immigration courts from 2019 until 2024, the period covered by its most recent report.

The 2019 case involving Abrego Garcia was adjudicated in Baltimore, with Jones signing an order that forbade his deportation to one of two nations, Guatemala or El Salvador, but not another nation.

In Baltimore, Jones approved 32.3 percent of asylum cases brought before him, while the average percentage among the 13 judges on the court during this period was about 54 percent. Jones granted some other form of relief for an additional 4.5 percent of cases in Baltimore, meaning he ruled in favor of those seeking to remain in the United States about 37 percent of the time in this court.

However, less than an hour away in Hyattsville, Jones appeared to favor asylum claims, approving 71.4 percent of those brought before him for consideration. He provided other forms of relief for an additional 0.3 percent of respondents, siding with those accused of being in the country illegally 71.7 percent of the time.

Jones’ percentage of asylum requests approved was on the high end in the Hyattsville court, where the average approval rate of judges was just 58 percent. Jones approved asylum cases at the third highest rate over his five years on the bench in Hyattsville.

Notably, Hyattsville was made a full immigration court in 2022, but previously appears to have been a location for those detained for being in the country illegally to make their initial pleading before a judge.

Additionally, though Abrego Garcia petitioned the court to grant him asylum, Jones dismissed the request because of the one-year time limit for such a request. Abrego Garcia reportedly told law enforcement he first illegally immigrated to the United States in 2012, but did not claim asylum until he was arrested in the company of alleged members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) in 2019. Two judges have determined Abrego Garcia is likely a member of MS-13, though he has denied this claim.

Jones also ruled against Abrego Garcia’s request to rule that he would be likely to experience state-sponsored torture, but confusingly granted his request for a “withholding of removal” order, specifically writing that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) failed to prove conditions had improved in Guatemala to the point where he could be deported to that nation without fear of reprisal from the Central American gang Barrio 18.

The Tennessee Star reported last week that Abrego Garcia was suspected of human trafficking in 2022, when he was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, but ultimately released at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI.”

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].