Kilmar Abrego fights back with gag order bid after Trump allies launch fresh attacks

Kilmar Abrego Garcia has filed for a gag order in a bid to silence public attacks from senior officials including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Politico reported on Thursday night.

The request, submitted to U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, marks the third time Abrego’s defense team has complained about government figures making inflammatory remarks that they argue threaten his right to a fair trial.

Reporters Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein noted that the move comes after “a torrent of invective in recent days from President Donald Trump, Noem, Bondi and other close Trump allies, who have levelled salacious allegations against Abrego that he fervently denies.”

Abrego, a Salvadoran immigrant who has lived in Maryland with his family, has become the focus of one of the most high-profile legal battles of the Trump era.

Earlier this year he was deported to the notorious CECOT mega prison in El Salvador, despite a standing federal court order prohibiting deportation to that country. For months, senior Trump officials blocked legal efforts to bring him back, insisting they had no jurisdiction over him once he had been removed.

The move triggered outrage at home and abroad, eventually forcing the case to the Supreme Court. Following a ruling in his favour and widespread public pressure, Abrego was repatriated to the United States. But on arrival, he was immediately taken into custody and hit with human smuggling charges, with the administration alleging he had acted on behalf of the MS-13 gang.

Abrego has firmly denied any gang ties or illegal activity, and many legal experts believe the charges are politically motivated. Critics argue the case looks more like retaliation than a legitimate prosecution, especially given the administration’s hardline approach to immigration enforcement.

As the legal fight has played out, Trump officials have continued to look for ways to remove him from the country. Earlier this week the administration began proceedings to deport him to Uganda, a nation with which Abrego has no personal or family connection. A federal judge stepped in to block the move, ruling that he cannot be deported until at least October.

The mounting pressure on Abrego has drawn attention not only to his individual case but to the wider struggle between the courts and the administration over immigration policy. His lawyers argue that relentless attacks from Trump allies have made it nearly impossible for him to receive a fair hearing. The gag order request is their latest effort to push back against what they see as an orchestrated smear campaign.

For now, Abrego remains in U.S. custody, awaiting the next round of court battles that could determine not only his fate but also how far the government can go in bypassing judicial rulings on immigration. His case continues to spark fierce debate over the limits of executive power, the role of the courts, and the human cost of America’s ongoing political wars over immigration.