Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia have asked a federal judge in
Tennessee to delay releasing him from jail in order to prevent the
Trump administration from trying to swiftly deport the Maryland
construction worker.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. in Nashville is expected to
rule soon on whether to free Abrego Garcia while he awaits trial on
human smuggling charges. If the Salvadoran national is released, U.S. officials have said he would be immediately detained by immigration authorities and targeted for deportation.
Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President
Donald Trump’s immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported
to his native El Salvador in March. That expulsion violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang
violence there.
The administration claimed that Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang,
although he wasn’t charged and has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Facing mounting pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. last month to face
the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have called
“preposterous.”
The smuggling case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during
which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers. Police
in Tennessee suspected human smuggling, but he was allowed to drive
on.
U.S. officials have said they’ll try to deport Abrego Garcia to a
country that isn’t El Salvador, such as Mexico or South Sudan,
before his trial starts in January because they allege he’s a danger
to the community.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville ruled a month ago
that Abrego Garcia is eligible for release after she determined he’s
not a flight risk or a danger. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys asked her
to keep him in jail over deportation concerns.
Holmes’ ruling is being reviewed by Crenshaw after federal
prosecutors filed a motion to revoke her release order.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys initially argued for his release but
changed their strategy because of the government’s plans to deport
him if he is set free. With Crenshaw’s decision imminent, Abrego
Garcia’s attorneys filed a motion Sunday night for a 30-day stay of
any release order. The request would allow Abrego Garcia to
“evaluate his options and determine whether additional relief is necessary.”
Earlier this month, U.S. officials detailed their plans to try to
expel Abrego Garcia in a federal court in Maryland. That’s where
Abrego Garcia’s American wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is suing the
Trump administration over his wrongful deportation in March and is
trying to prevent another expulsion.
U.S. officials have argued that Abrego Garcia can be deported because
he came to the U.S. illegally around 2011 and because a U.S.
immigration judge deemed him eligible for expulsion in 2019, although
not to his native El Salvador.
Kick him out. His buds will kill him for being a spy.
https://apnews.com/article/kilmar-abrego-garcia-release-jail-deportatio
n- trial-c17d7ba538530a668e4f55358e83c0fe
Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President
Donald Trump’s immigration policies when he was wrongfully (sic) deported to his native El Salvador in March. That expulsion violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang
violence there.
The administration claimed that Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang,
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