The Justice Department said Thursday it intends to try Kilmar Abrego Garcia in federal smuggling charges in Tennessee before expelling him to address concerns that he may be expelled from the United States again within days.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Holmes of Nashville, Tennessee, recently ruled that Abrego Garcia has the right to be released while awaiting trial on smuggling charges. but She decided on Wednesday To keep him in the eye, US immigration officials will worry at least a few days Detain him quickly and try to expel him again.
But Justice Department spokesman Chad Gilmartin told the Associated Press that Abrego Garcia will first go to trial on charges in court.
“The defendant is charged with a horrible crime including trafficking in children and will not walk freely in our country again,” Gilmartin said.
President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policy became a flash point when Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. The Trump administration faces increasing pressure and Supreme Court orders, sending him back this month, with Abrego Garcia’s lawyers aiming to justify his wrongful deportation.
As Abrego Garcia’s criminal case develops, fears he will be quickly deported after his release in Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys filed an urgent request to a Maryland federal judge on Thursday, ordering the government to bring Abrego Garcia to the state after release, an arrangement that would prevent him from being deported before trial.
“If the court does not act quickly, the government may drive Abrego Garcia somewhere away from Maryland,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyer wrote.
Abrego Garcia has worked with his wife and children in Maryland for more than a decade before being deported in March. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, sued the Trump administration for being deported in Maryland federal court, and Abrego Garcia’s attorney filed an urgent request.
One of his attorneys, Jonathan Cooper, told U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis during a Thursday afternoon call that he was evacuating Mr. Abrego Garcia quickly over the weekend. ”
Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn admits U.S. government plans to expel Abrego Garcia It is not the “third country” in El Salvador. But he said there is no timetable for deportation plans.
“We do plan to comply with the orders we receive from this and other courts,” he said. “But there is no timeline for these specific procedures.”
White House spokesman Abigail Jackson posted on X later Thursday: “Abrego Garcia was sent back to the United States to face trial on serious charges against him. He will face the full force of the U.S. judicial system, including serving in U.S. prisons for crimes he committed.”
Sinis said on the call that she couldn’t be as quick as Abrego Garcia’s lawyer. She said she had to consider an upcoming motion from the Trump administration to dismiss the case before she could make a decision on the urgent request. The judge plans to hold a July 7 court hearing in Maryland to discuss emergency requests and other matters.
When the Trump administration expelled Abrego Garcia, it violated a 2019 order by a U.S. immigration judge that prohibited him from expelling his home country. The judge found that Abrego Garcia faced a credible threat to the terrifying gang he and his family.
Trump administration describes its violation of immigration judge’s 2019 order as Management errors. Trump and other officials have doubled their claims against Abrego Garcia in the MS-13 gang, a charge Abrego Garcia denied.
Abrego Garcia No guilty On June 13, his lawyer was charged with proof of his wrongful expulsion from his lawyer El Salvador’s notorious prison.
The allegations stem from speeding traffic stops in Tennessee in 2022, during which Abrego Garcia drove the vehicles of nine passengers without luggage.
Tennessee District Court Judge Sherlock Holmes wrote in Sunday’s ruling that federal prosecutors failed to show that Abreg Garcia was a flight risk or a danger to the community.
During a court hearing Wednesday, Holmes set specific conditions for Abrego Garcia’s release, which included him living in Maryland with his brother, U.S. citizen. But she released him for fear that the prosecutor would not stop us from immigration and customs enforcement from deporting him.
Holmes ordered Abrego Garcia’s lawyers and prosecutors to submit briefings on the matter Thursday and Friday, respectively.
