Justice Department says it intends to try Kilmar Abrego Garcia on smuggling charges [View all]
Source: AP
Updated 5:39 PM EDT, June 26, 2025
The Justice Department said Thursday that it intends to try Kilmar Abrego Garcia on federal smuggling charges in Tennessee before it moves to deport him to a country that is not his native El Salvador.
“This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again,” DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told The Associated Press.
Gilmartin made the statement hours after a federal prosecutor told a federal judge in Maryland that the U.S. government plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a “third country” that isn’t El Salvador. But Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn said there was no timeline for the deportation plans.
Guynn acknowledged the government’s plans during a hastily planned conference call with Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers had filed an emergency request for Xinis to order the government to take Abrego Garcia to Maryland when he is released in Tennessee, an arrangement that would prevent his deportation before he stands trial.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/kilmar-abrego-garcia-maryland-tennessee-charges-deportation-c96844906793b35a80f9bbb4afa07e94
Article updated.
Previous article/headline -
Updated 2:45 PM EDT, June 26, 2025
Federal prosecutors told a judge in Maryland on Thursday that the government plans to initiate removal proceedings against Kilmar Abrego Garcia and to deport him to a country that is not his native El Salvador upon his release from a Tennessee jail. But the prosecutors also said that they would comply with all court orders and that their plans are not imminent.
Attorneys for Abrego Garcia earlier asked the judge in Maryland to order his return to that state when he is released from jail, an arrangement that would prevent likely attempts by immigration officials to quickly deport Abrego Garcia.
The Maryland construction worker became a flashpoint over President Donald Trump's immigration policies after he was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador in March. He's been in jail in Tennessee since he was returned to the U.S. on June 7 to face federal charges of human smuggling.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville has ruled that Abrego Garcia has a right to be released while awaiting trial. But she decided Wednesday to keep him in custody for at least a few more days over concerns that U.S. immigration officials would swiftly try to deport him again.
Original article -
Federal prosecutors told a judge on Thursday that the government plans to initiate removal proceedings against Kilmar Abrego Garcia and to deport him to a country that is not El Salvador upon his release from a Tennessee jail. But the prosecutors also said that they would comply with all court orders and that their plans are not imminent.
Attorneys for Abrego Garcia earlier asked a federal judge in Maryland to order his return to that state when he is released from jail in Tennessee, an arrangement that would prevent likely attempts by immigration officials to quickly deport Abrego Garcia.
The Maryland construction worker became a flashpoint over President Donald Trump's immigration policies after he was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador in March. He's been in jail in Tennessee since he was returned to the U.S. on June 7 to face federal charges of human smuggling.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville has ruled that Abrego Garcia has a right to be released while awaiting trial. But she decided Wednesday to keep him in custody for at least a few more days over concerns that U.S. immigration officials would swiftly try to deport him again.
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