A federal judge in Tennessee could rule on whether to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from jail as he awaits trial on human smuggling charges
A federal judge in Tennessee could rule Wednesday on whether to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from jail to await trial on human smuggling charges, a decision that could allow President Donald Trump’s administration to try to deport the Maryland construction worker for a second time.
Lawyers for the Justice Department have said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will detain Abrego Garcia if he’s freed. ICE officials have said they will initiate deportation proceedings against the Salvadoran national and will possibly try to send him to a third country such as Mexico or South Sudan.
Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over the Republican 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 2019 order that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there.
The Trump administration claimed 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.
