NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Two federal judges have issued rulings that will allow Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be released from custody while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges in Tennessee, without fear of immediate deportation.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after denying a motion by the Justice Department to revoke a prior release order.
In his ruling, Crenshaw wrote that the government "failed to carry its burden of showing that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure Abrego's appearance or the safety of others."
Simultaneously, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued a ruling barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from immediately detaining Abrego Garcia once he's released on bond.
Abrego Garcia is suing the Trump administration in Maryland over his wrongful deportation in March while facing two human smuggling charges in Tennessee.
The combined judicial orders mean Abrego Garcia can be released from custody while awaiting trial without fear of immediate deportation. Immigration officials have also been ordered to provide Abrego Garcia 72 hours' notice if they plan to initiate removal proceedings to any country other than his native El Salvador.
Those countries include Mexico and South Sudan.
Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop where troopers suspected he was speeding while driving an SUV with nine other Hispanic men. Body camera footage captured troopers suggesting that Abrego Garcia was transporting undocumented people across state lines for money.
Abrego Garcia, who entered the country illegally in 2011, was deported in March and sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, despite a 2019 court order barring his return to the country where he claimed he feared persecution from neighborhood gangs.
He was brought back to the U.S. in March after the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return.
He walked off a plane and into a Tennessee jail, where he faced human smuggling charges that some argued were politically motivated.
After extensive testimony between attorneys, Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ultimately determined that prosecutors did not provide enough evidence to show that Abrego Garcia, whom DOJ officials accused of being a dangerous MS-13 member, was a threat to others or a flight risk.
Holmes outlined conditions for Abrego Garcia's release, including living with his brother in Maryland, wearing an ankle monitor, seeking employment, and avoiding legal trouble.
However, Abrego Garcia will remain in U.S. Marshal custody for at least the next 30 days after Holmes granted a request by both sides to delay issuing a new release order. Defense attorneys filed the motion on Sunday, saying they had reason to believe the Department of Homeland Security would begin removal proceedings to a third country immediately after Abrego Garcia was transferred into their custody.
Prosecutors did not object to the motion, as they've also stated they would rather try Abrego Garcia in Tennessee than have him deported.
DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin emphasized that "the defendant has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again."
Days later, a Justice Department official explained that Abrego Garcia would most likely be removed to a country other than his native El Salvador.
Judge Xinis expressed concern that, depending on what happened in Tennessee, Abrego Garcia could be "spirited away" and removed from the U.S. without due process.
"We're a court of laws and we don't operate on 'take my word for it,'" Xinis said.
The Maryland order provides Abrego Garcia some of the same protections from the 2019 order that allowed for supervised release while his immigration case is reviewed by the courts. Previously, Abrego Garcia had permission to live in Maryland and was authorized to work.
Xinis' order allows the Trump administration to initiate immigration proceedings, but only after Abrego Garcia is returned to Maryland.
They accused DHS Secretary Kristi Noem of violating court rules in her Nashville press conference, where she called Abrego Garcia a "horrible human being and a monster" who "should never be released free."
Abrego Garcia's attorneys said Noem’s comments, “are precisely of the type that are most likely to prejudice Mr. Abrego’s right to a fair trial. Secretary Noem assailed Mr. Abrego’s character and reputation, including with verbal insults and allegations that are irrelevant to the offenses charged in the indictment and almost certainly inadmissible at trial.”
According to the filing, attorneys requested that the government issue a retraction on Monday but have not heard back from the Trump administration.
There's been no decision on this latest filing.
Meanwhile, a trial date for Abrego Garcia's criminal case has been set for January 27, 2026.
