The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to set a trial date for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador who was deported in March, then returned to the United States last month to face federal human smuggling charges in Nashville.
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire submitted the DOJ motion requesting Chief District Judge Waverly Crenshaw set a trial date on Wednesday, when he noted that Abrego Garcia is legally entitled to receive a jury trial within 70 days of his initial court appearance on June 6, as he has not waived his right to a speedy trial.
McGuire acknowledged within the motion that his requests come even as the DOJ continues its pretrial discovery process, and has yet to enter into a protective order that would allow the prosecutors to share their evidence with Abrego Garcia’s defense attorneys.
“While, as noted, the discovery process is ongoing, the United States feels it is appropriate for the Court to set a date for a jury trial to comply with the Speedy Trial Act,” wrote McGuire. “The United States would seek to try the defendant as soon as possible.”
Abrego Garcia’s representation for the criminal case notably includes Nashville-based attorney, Rascoe Dean, as well as lawyers from the New York law firm Hecker & Fink, which represented former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in her lawsuits against President Donald Trump.
The DOJ motion was submitted the same day Abrego Garcia’s immigration attorneys in Maryland submitted an amended complaint which sought to compel the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to return Abrego Garcia to Maryland, then issue a writ of habeas corpus, requiring ICE to justify his continued detention. Such an action could lead to his supervised release back into Maryland.
District Court Judge Paula Xinis, who oversees the Maryland case, scheduled a hearing for July 7 in response to an earlier request from Abrego Garcia’s immigration attorneys for the citizen of El Salvador to be held by ICE in Maryland, should he be released by the DOJ.
Previously, U.S. District Magistrate Barbara Holmes agreed to delay making her decision on whether to order Abrego Garcia’s release until July 16. Because Abrego Garcia is subject to an ICE detainer, she acknowledged that ordering his release would functionally amount to a custody transfer from DOJ, where he is currently held by the U.S. Marshals Service, to DHS and ICE.
Deported in March, Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States on June 6, when an unsealed indictment accused him of participating in a human smuggling ring for nearly a decade. He pleaded not guilty last month.
The Tennessee Star was the first outlet to report Abrego Garcia was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol in November 2022, when the “Biden-era FBI” ordered troopers to release him despite their suspicion he was engaged in human trafficking.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
