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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain in jail for at least a
few more days while attorneys in the federal smuggling case against him
spar over whether prosecutors have the ability to prevent Abrego Garcia’s deportation if he is released to await trial.
The Salvadoran national whose mistaken deportation became a flashpoint in
the fight over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies has been in
jail since he was returned to the U.S. on June 7, facing two counts of
human smuggling.
A federal Judge has ruled that Abrego Garcia has a right to be released
and even set specific conditions during a court hearing on Wednesday for
him to live with his brother. But Abrego Garcia’s attorneys expressed
concern that it would lead to his immediate detention and possible
deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes also expressed doubts during the
hearing about her own power to require anything more than prosecutors
using their best efforts to secure the cooperation of ICE.
“I have no reservations about my ability to direct the local U.S.
Attorney’s office,” the judge said. “I don’t think I have any authority
over ICE.”
Holmes did not say when she would file the release order for Abrego
Garcia, but it will not happen before Friday afternoon.
Judge: Government dilemma ‘completely of its own making’
Abrego Garcia, who was shackled and wearing a red jumpsuit, was expected
to be released Wednesday, if only into ICE custody. But the court hearing revealed instead the competing interests between two federal agencies
within the Trump administration.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire has said in court and in filings that one
of the reasons he wants Abrego Garcia to stay in jail is to ensure that he remains in the country and isn’t deported by ICE.
McGuire told the judge during Wednesday’s hearing that he would do “the
best I can” to secure the cooperation of the Department of Homeland
Security, which includes ICE. But the prosecutor noted, “That’s a separate agency with separate leadership and separate directions. I will
coordinate, but I can’t tell them what to do.”
But Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Sean Hecker, countered that the Department
of Justice and Homeland Security are both within the executive branch and
seem to cooperate on other things. For example, ICE has agreed not to
deport cooperating witnesses who agreed to testify against Abrego Garcia.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors had tried to stay Holmes’ release order.
But it was denied by another federal judge on Wednesday afternoon, who
wrote that the government was asking the court to “save it from itself” in
a situation that was “completely of its own making.”
U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. wrote that federal
prosecutors should be making their arguments to DHS, not a court, “because
the Department of Justice and DHS can together prevent the harm the
Government contends it faces.”
“If the Government finds this case to be as high priority as it argues
here, it is incumbent upon it to ensure that Abrego is held accountable
for the charges in the Indictment,” Crenshaw wrote. “If the Department of Justice and DHS cannot do so, that speaks for itself.”
Crenshaw, however, will allow prosecutors to file a brief in support of a motion to revoke the magistrate’s release order. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for July 16.
In court on wedding anniversary
Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty on June 13 to smuggling charges that his attorneys have characterized as an attempt to justify his mistaken
deportation in March to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/25/kilmar-abrego-garcia-remain-jail- deportation-00424879
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