Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino [WATCH]

Chief Border Patrol Agent Greg Bovino said Friday that adjudicated MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia will be removed from the United States once he is legally eligible for deportation, following a federal court order that resulted in Garcia’s release from immigration detention.

Bovino made the remarks during an appearance on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” where he discussed the case with host Jesse Watters and addressed the Trump administration’s position on removing Garcia and other illegal immigrants with criminal records.

United States District Judge Paula Xinis of the District of Maryland, an Obama appointee, ordered the Trump administration to release Garcia.

In her ruling, Xinis stated that Garcia was “held in ICE detention to effectuate third-country removal absent a lawful removal order.”

The decision prompted renewed attention to Garcia’s immigration status and criminal history.

Bovino told Watters that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would continue efforts to remove Garcia once legal conditions allow.

He said ICE’s role is to ensure that individuals who are deportable are returned to their countries of record.

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“Once he becomes deportable, for the second time, remember, he was deportable the first time and actually got deported,” Bovino told Watters.

“When he becomes deportable the second time, we’re going to deport this individual. It’s too bad that we have these activist judges that legislate from the bench and put MS-13 gang members back out on the streets to harm Americans. That’s what we’re doing in these American cities, taking individuals like this ‘Maryland dad’ ‘ and putting them back where they need to be, and that’s in their country of record.”

Garcia is currently under indictment in Tennessee on human trafficking charges.

According to information released by the Trump administration, Garcia had previously been deported to El Salvador, where he was held in a high-security prison used to house MS-13 members.

His detention in El Salvador became a focal point of political attention, with Democrats advocating for his return to the United States.

In April, the Trump administration released a 13-page dossier outlining evidence against Garcia.

The dossier included findings from immigration judges who determined that Garcia was a member of MS-13.

The administration cited those findings in defending its handling of the case and its broader immigration enforcement policies.

MS-13 is an El Salvadoran prison gang that has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by President Donald Trump.

The designation has been referenced by administration officials in discussions about immigration enforcement and public safety.

Additional details about Garcia’s case date back to 2022.

According to the Tennessee Star, Abrego Garcia was detained that year by the Tennessee Highway Patrol on suspicion of human trafficking.

Despite the detention, he was later released at the behest of the Biden-Harris administration FBI, the outlet reported.

The case has drawn attention from both immigration officials and lawmakers as it intersects with ongoing debates over judicial rulings, deportation authority, and the handling of illegal immigrants accused or convicted of serious crimes.

Bovino’s comments reflected the administration’s stated position that individuals identified as gang members and deemed deportable should be removed from the country once legal barriers are resolved.

Bovino emphasized during the interview that the administration’s goal remains the removal of individuals like Garcia when permitted under immigration law.

He said ICE would continue working to place such individuals “where they need to be,” reiterating that deportation would occur once Garcia again meets the legal criteria for removal.

The situation continues to unfold as Garcia’s criminal case in Tennessee proceeds and as immigration authorities monitor his status following the federal court ruling.