U.S. District Court Magistrate Barbara Holmes for the Middle District of Tennessee on Monday agreed to the request by Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s defense attorneys to delay her consideration of his potential release until July 16, when District Court Chief Judge Waverly Crenshaw will have reviewed her decision to deny the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) a detention hearing for the citizen of El Salvador.
Because Abrego Garcia is subject to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer, the prosecutors, Holmes, and Abrego Garcia’s attorneys previously acknowledged her order to release the alleged human smuggler on his own recognizance would functionally facilitate his transfer from DOJ custody, where he is currently held by the U.S. Marshals, to the custody of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where the citizen of El Salvador will be held by ICE.
Before the request in Tennessee, Abrego Garcia’s immigration attorneys in Maryland, Murray Osorio, secured a July 7 hearing from U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis to consider their request to enter a ruling demanding ICE detain Abrego Garcia in Maryland. They claim such an order is necessary to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return from El Salvador.
Both his Maryland immigration attorneys and Nashville defense attorneys, which include Rascoe Dean and multiple attorneys from the New York-based firm, Hecker & Fink, have argued the government indicated it intends to deport Abrego Garcia to a safe, third country, if he is remanded to the custody of ICE.
Citing the arguments by Abrego Garcia’s defense attorneys, and the government’s motion consenting to the delay but disputing the characterization of its statements regarding his potential future deportation, Holmes declared the defendant, “shall therefore remain in the custody of the United States Marshal pending further order,” from Waverly.
Holmes then ruled that Abrego Garcia should be housed separately from other inmates and must be returned to the Fred D. Thompson Courthouse and Federal Building for the July 16 evidentiary hearing, when Crenshaw will determine whether to reconsider her decision to deny the government a detention hearing.
The Tennessee Star was the first outlet to report Abrego Garcia was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol on November 30, 2022, when the troopers suspected him of human trafficking, but were ordered to release Abrego Garcia by the “Biden-era FBI.”
Abrego Garcia was returned to Tennessee to face federal human smuggling charges on June 6, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed the indictment accusing him of spending nearly a decade embroiled in a human smuggling conspiracy that spans the United States and Mexico. He pleaded not guilty.
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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].
Democrats talk a speedy trial, and then all they do is delay.