NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Diya TV) — The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday it will prosecute Kilmar Abrego Garcia on federal child smuggling charges in Tennessee before moving to deport him. The statement aims to ease concerns that Abrego Garcia would be quickly expelled from the country.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ruled that Abrego Garcia has a right to be released while awaiting trial. However, she delayed his release over fears that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would immediately detain and deport him.
Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin confirmed the government’s plans to try Abrego Garcia before deportation. “This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again,” Gilmartin said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty on June 13 to the smuggling charges. The case stems from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. He was pulled over for speeding and was found driving a vehicle with nine passengers and no luggage.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers worry that ICE could try to deport him quickly once he leaves jail. On Thursday, his legal team filed an emergency request in Maryland, asking a federal judge to order the government to release him there. That move would help stop a possible deportation before his trial.
“If this Court does not act swiftly, then the Government is likely to whisk Abrego Garcia away to some place far from Maryland,” his attorneys wrote.
Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland for more than 10 years. He worked in construction and has an American wife and children. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is suing the Trump administration in a Maryland federal court for wrongly deporting him in March.
During a Thursday conference call with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland, Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn confirmed the government plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a country other than El Salvador. He did not say when.
“We do plan to comply with the orders we’ve received from this court and other courts,” Guynn said. “But there’s no timeline for these specific proceedings.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson also commented Thursday on X. “Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States to face trial for the egregious charges against him,” she said. “He will face the full force of the American justice system — including serving time in an American prison for the crimes he’s committed.”
Abrego Garcia’s case gained national attention under former President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies. In March, the government mistakenly deported him to El Salvador despite a 2019 immigration judge’s ruling that barred his removal due to gang threats.
The Trump administration later admitted the deportation was an “administrative error.” Officials had claimed he was linked to the MS-13 gang — an allegation Abrego Garcia denies. Facing public outcry and a Supreme Court order, the administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. to stand trial. His lawyers argue that the smuggling charges are an attempt to justify the wrongful deportation.
Magistrate Judge Holmes ruled Sunday that federal prosecutors did not prove Abrego Garcia is a flight risk or a danger to the community. She set strict conditions for his release, including living with his U.S. citizen brother in Maryland. But Holmes delayed the release, citing doubts that prosecutors could stop ICE from deporting him. She ordered both sides to submit briefs on the matter by Friday.
Judge Xinis in Maryland said she could not rule quickly on the emergency request. She must first consider the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the deportation lawsuit. She scheduled a hearing for July 7. Abrego Garcia remains in custody in Tennessee as courts in both states weigh their next steps. His future depends on rulings in both the criminal smuggling case and the civil suit over his deportation.
