Judge again delays Abrego Garcia鈥檚 release from Tennessee jail over deportation concerns
Jun 30, 2025, 12:22 PM
Brianna O'Keefe yells as she holds a portrait of Kilmar Obrego Garcia during a protest outside the federal courthouse Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/George Walker IV)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) 鈥� Kilmar Abrego Garcia will stay in jail for now over concerns that he could be deported if he鈥檚 released to await his trial on human smuggling charges, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled Monday.
Abrego Garcia鈥檚 attorneys had asked the judge to delay his release because of what they described as 鈥渃ontradictory statements鈥� by President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration over what would happen to the Salvadoran national. The lawyers wrote in a brief to the court that 鈥渨e cannot put any faith in any representation made on this issue” by the Justice Department, adding that the 鈥渋rony of this request is not lost on anyone.鈥�
Abrego Garcia, a construction worker who had been living in Maryland, became a flashpoint over Trump鈥檚 hardline immigration policies when he was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador in March. Facing mounting pressure and a Supreme Court order, Trump鈥檚 Republican administration returned him this month to face the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have called 鈥減reposterous.鈥�
