Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia will remain in jail for now, over concerns from his lawyers that he could be deported if released while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges. US District Judge Paula Xinis signaled on Friday that she would issue an order protecting Abrego Garcia from deportation.
The Trump Administration has released contradictory statements about what will happen to Abrego Garcia if he is released on bond. Government attorneys have said that should Abrego Garcia be released, he could be deported again. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have asked the judge to delay his release until his July 16th court hearing, which will consider a request by prosecutors to revoke Abrego Garcia’s release order while he awaits trial.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers wrote in a brief to the court Friday that “we cannot put any faith in any representation made on this issue” by the Justice Department, adding that the “irony of this request is not lost on anyone.”
Friday was day 3 of the civil hearing in Maryland regarding the government’s plans for Abrego Garcia. Judge Xinis expressed extreme frustration with the Department of Justice over their handling of the case, and regarded the department’s actions as insufficient to address what exactly will be done to ensure due process for Abrego Garcia if he’s taken into ICE custody following his release.
On Thursday, the Maryland court saw Thomas Giles testify about the administration’s plans, who stated that “there was no way to know what would happen to Mr. Abrego Garcia until he was taken into custody by ICE.” He continued, “The administration would either seek to send Mr. Abrego Garcia to a third country like South Sudan or try to return him to El Salvador, his homeland, after seeking to undo the initial order that expressly prohibited him from being sent there.” He concluded by explaining that the decision would ultimately be made by an ICE field officer.
Judge Xinis described this information as “insufficient and incredible,” and on Friday, she told Sarmad M. Khojasteh, a lawyer for the Justice Department, “it defies reality that such a high-profile matter would be handled by a relatively low-level official in an ICE field office.”
Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March to the country’s CECOT mega-prison, despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation due to fear of persecution. The judge found that Salvadoran national and his family faced credible threats from gangs. The Trump administration had originally claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13.
Last month, Abrego Garcia was returned to the US to face criminal smuggling charges in Tennessee, for allegedly transporting nine undocumented migrants within the US. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have accused the Trump administration of bringing him back “to convict him in the court of public opinion” with the intention of deporting him before he has a chance to defend himself at trial. His hearing for the smuggling charges is scheduled for July 16th.
