The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) informed U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in a Sunday filing that the decision by Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes to deny a detention hearing for Kilmar Abrego Garcia will likely result in his deportation from the United States, as the alleged illegal immigrant smuggler is currently subject to a detainer by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Without the stay, Abrego Garcia will likely be transferred to ICE custody following a Wednesday hearing by Holmes.
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire argued in the four-page submission that Holmes failed to consider the gravity of the evidence presented during Abrego Garcia’s arraignment, when investigators testified the El Salvadoran man’s co-conspirators said he involved minors in his trip, and that one minor was being smuggled during the November 2022 traffic stop.
The Tennessee Star was the first outlet to report that Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in 2022.
McGuire also noted that investigators used license plate readers (LPR) data to determine that Abrego Garcia allegedly lied to the Tennessee Highway Patrol during the stop, and had made stops in Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia, before traveling to Tennessee. He was never in St. Louis, Missouri, as he claimed.
Then, McGuire told the court that ICE may deport Abrego Garcia, unless it grants a stay to Holmes’ decision.
“Defendant could face potential deportation from the United States in the near future should Judge Holmes’ impending release order remain in effect,” said McGuire.
When denying the DOJ request for a detention hearing, Holmes acknowledged that Abrego Garcia was likely to remain in federal custody, with a transfer from the DOJ to ICE likely to occur. McGuire argued that reversing the order would only offer “limited” prejudice against the defendant because “he will remain in custody pending deportation,” and “Holmes’ release order would not immediately release him into the community under any circumstance.”
The Star exclusively reported that Abrego Garcia was released by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in 2022 at the orders of the “Biden-era FBI,” despite the troopers’ suspicion he was engaged in human trafficking during the stop.
The Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia in March. He sued the Trump administration, alleging that it violated a 2019 final deportation order, which included a withholding of removal that prohibited his deportation to one of two countries: Guatemala or El Salvador.
He was returned to Tennessee on June 6, when Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed the indictment accusing him of working in an illegal immigrant smuggling ring for nearly a decade. Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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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].
The Deep State desperately wants this human trafficking gang member illegally in our country released onto the streets of America to continue committing crimes. We demand answers as to why.
Send him overseas. I’m not gonna pay for him to stay here.