The U.S. Marshals Service told The Tennessee Star on Thursday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador deported in March and returned last month to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, remains within their custody pending a final decision from U.S. Magistrate Barbara Holmes.
Following his Wednesday court appearance, when Holmes instructed Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to submit additional arguments ahead of his potential release, at which time he would likely be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a U.S. Marshals spokesman told The Star, “He is currently in U.S. Marshals Service custody.”
Abrego Garcia was returned to Tennessee on June 6, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed an indictment accusing the El Salvadoran of spending nearly a decade embroiled in a human smuggling ring.
He pleaded not guilty last week and was in DOJ custody awaiting trial, but Holmes on Sunday denied the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) request to hold a detention hearing for Abrego Garcia, and on Wednesday indicated she would release him on his own recognizance.
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire noted that Abrego Garcia could be deported, as an immigration detainer has been issued for him by ICE, and he will likely be detained following any release ordered by Holmes.
The hearing occurred just days after the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the Trump administration has the authority to deport illegal immigrants to a third, safe country, if a judge has ruled they cannot be deported to their homeland. Abrego Garcia has claimed his March removal violated his 2019 final deportation order which contained a “withholding of removal” provision preventing his deportation to one of two nations, either Guatemala or El Salvador.
With the possibility their client could be deported to a third country, his attorneys on Wednesday expressed concern to Holmes that releasing Abrego Garcia, resulting in his likely detainment by ICE, could jeopardize his right to a fair trial.
Holmes asked his attorneys to submit a filing on Thursday and indicated she would make her final ruling on whether to release Abrego Garcia on Thursday.
Following the hearing, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Star the agency’s position on Abrego Garcia had not changed.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a dangerous criminal illegal alien,” said McLaughlin. “We have said it for months and it remains true to this day: he will never go free on American soil.”
The Star was the first outlet to report that Abrego Garcia was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol in November 2022, when troopers suspected him of human trafficking, but were nontheless ordered to release the El Salvadoran by the “Biden-era FBI.”
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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].
What a waste of court time and court resources. In this case the attorneys, the pro bono attorneys at that, should be charged to reimburse the government. This is pure nonsense, he will be deported. He should have been deported previously. This turned into political grandstanding by the minority party. This is abuse of the court system and unnecessary funding of public funding.