WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice announced their plan to prosecute Kilmar Abrego Garcia on federal smuggling charges in Tennessee. This decision comes amidst concerns that he might be deported swiftly without facing trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville had initially granted Abrego Garcia the right to be released from jail while he awaited trial for smuggling. However, on Wednesday, she temporarily prolonged his detention due to apprehensions that immigration officials might quickly detain and deport him again.
Department of Justice spokesperson Chad Gilmartin emphasized that Abrego Garcia will indeed stand trial for the alleged offenses. “This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again,” stated Gilmartin. Abrego Garcia became a significant figure amidst President Donald Trump’s stringent immigration measures after being erroneously deported to El Salvador in March. Under pressure and following a Supreme Court directive, the administration facilitated his return to confront the smuggling charges, which Abrego Garcia’s legal team argues were a strategy to rationalize the wrongful deportation.
While his criminal proceedings were underway, concerns escalated over the possibility of his quick deportation upon release from the Tennessee jail. As a precaution, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers filed an urgent plea to a federal judge in Maryland, aiming to ensure his transfer to Maryland upon release, a move that would help delay any deportation efforts until after the trial. In the plea, they stressed that the government could relocate Abrego Garcia far from Maryland abruptly without this intervention.
Before his deportation, Abrego Garcia resided and worked in Maryland as a construction worker alongside his American family for over ten years. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is currently engaged in a legal battle against the Trump administration over his deportation in a Maryland federal court, where his attorneys also filed their emergency plea. During a conference call on Thursday, one of his lawyers, Jonathan Cooper, expressed concerns to U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, voicing the fear that the government might attempt a rapid removal over the weekend.
Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn acknowledged that plans are in place to deport Abrego Garcia to another country, not El Salvador, but emphasized there is no set timeline for such proceedings. The statement underscored the government’s intention to follow the court orders received while noting no specific schedule for deportation actions.
After a statement from a White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, highlighting that Abrego Garcia returned to face severe charges in the U.S. justice system, Judge Xinis noted that she could not meet the expedited timeline that Abrego Garcia’s attorneys sought. She explained that she needed to review pending motions related to his case filed by the Trump administration before making a ruling on their emergency request, with a subsequent court session scheduled for July 7 to delve into the matter further.
Previously, the Trump administration had violated a 2019 U.S. immigration judge’s order by deporting Abrego Garcia, an order that had recognized credible threats from gangs in his home country. The administrative error, as described by the administration, also carried insinuations of alleged gang affiliations, claims that Abrego Garcia staunchly denies.
On June 13, Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, which his attorneys assert were manipulated to substantiate his wrongful deportation to an infamous prison in El Salvador. These charges arose from a 2022 incident in Tennessee, where a traffic stop for speeding revealed Abrego Garcia driving a vehicle with multiple passengers lacking luggage.
Magistrate Judge Holmes acknowledged in a ruling that the prosecutors did not convincingly portray Abrego Garcia as a flight risk or community threat. While she initially set specific release conditions—such as Abrego Garcia residing with his U.S. citizen brother in Maryland—concerns persisted about the potential for deportation without trial. Consequently, both his legal team and the prosecutors have been tasked to submit legal briefs on the issue, expected by Thursday and Friday, respectively.