NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A caravan of black SUVs left the courthouse Wednesday afternoon right after Kilmar Abrego Garcia was told he would remain in jail for at least the next few days.
It wasn’t clear if Abrego Garcia was in one of these vehicles, but our cameras were rolling, knowing this could be one of his last public appearances before being detained by ICE.
Abrego Garcia currently faces two federal human smuggling charges as part of what prosecutors say was a massive human smuggling conspiracy stretching between South America, Mexico, and the United States.
The man, once mistakenly deported back to his home country in El Salvador this past March, was returned to the US this past June to face charges in Middle Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia currently has an immigration hold, meaning that ICE can detain and possibly deport him if he’s released from custody for any reason.
Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes told prosecutors that they were required to communicate with the Department of Homeland Security and provide updates to the Court on if, and when, they plan to deport Abrego Garcia.
US Attorney Robert McGuire said he would do his best to communicate with DHS, but defense attorneys argued that’s not enough.
Defense attorneys said that if prosecutors can negotiate to keep cooperating witnesses from deportation in exchange for their testimony against Abrego Garcia, then DHS can certainly keep Abrego Garcia around long enough for his day in court.
Holmes gave both attorneys until noon on Thursday to submit arguments in writing, so she could amend her order for release by Friday if necessary.
This comes after Holmes’ decision earlier this week, where she agreed to release Abrego Garcia pending trial.
Prosecutors appealed Holmes’ release order, but federal Judge Waverly Crenshaw declined to pause the court proceeding.
Prosecutors had said they would prefer to try Abrego Garcia on the two federal human smuggling charges rather than see him deported elsewhere, with virtually no expectation he would return.
Crenshaw wrote that the government was seeking help for an issue of its own doing, by not simply communicating with DHS and pausing Abrego Garcia's deportation.
Holmes argued that prosecutors did not provide enough evidence to prove that Abrego Garcia was a danger to others, a flight risk, or someone who would intimidate witnesses if he were released before trial.
“Overall, the strength of the factors weighing in favor of release outweighs all other factors in favor of detention, which compels Abrego Garcia's release, particularly given the clear default under the law that persons who have not yet been convicted of a crime should be released pending trial,” Holmes wrote.
Holmes read Abrego Garcia the conditions of his release, at times stopping to acknowledge that these conditions apply when Abrego Garcia is no longer in ICE custody.
Apart from standard conditions, like not violating any federal or state laws, travel is also limited to Abrego Garcia’s brother's home in Maryland, work, school, doctor’s visits, and court appearances in Middle Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia would have to connect with pretrial services in Maryland, where he may also be required to wear a GPS monitoring device.
Other conditions include surrendering any international passports, no excessive use of alcohol, no access to firearms, and no contact with victims, cooperating witnesses, or known members of MS-13.
Abrego Garcia must also look for a job with the help of pretrial services, which will also provide anger management and mental health counseling.
PROTESTS AND REACTION FROM FAMILY
Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vazquez Sura, joined a press conference with advocates early Wednesday morning ahead of the hearing. She said the hearing coincided with the couple's sixth wedding anniversary.
"Today he misses our wedding anniversary," Vazquez Sura said.
"Kilmar, if you can hear me, I want you to know that all these hardships have only strained our love and deepened our faith in God," she added.
"Kilmar was abducted, detained, and illegally jailed by the Trump administration on March 12," one advocate said.
Abrego Garcia’s wife says it's been 106 days since he was taken into custody.
"Kilmar should have never been taken away from us," Vazquez Sura said.
As the hearing took place inside, supporters chanted outside the courthouse, saying they were standing up for justice, freedom, and due process.
"In America, we are not supposed to be imprisoning people and then running around and trying to find mistakes that they've made," Nashville Resident Reid Cifrino said.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding that due process is only for citizens, and due process, if you look at our constitution, is guaranteed to all persons," another supporter, Shannon Wood, added.
Those present during the press conference prayed that Abrego Garcia would be released on his wedding anniversary.
"We pray that truth will prevail in today's hearing and guide the hearts and minds of all involved," they said.
So that he could be reunited with his family.
"Our children are waiting for that call knowing that you're on your way home to them," Vazquez Sura said.
THE CHARGES
Abrego Garcia’s charges stem from a 2022 Tennessee Highway Patrol traffic stop and the word of cooperating witnesses who prosecutors said pointed the finger at Abrego Garcia as a "prolific smuggler."
Body camera footage that prosecutors say illustrates this point shows Abrego Garcia behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Suburban heading east on Interstate 40 on Nov. 30, 2022, in Cookeville.
Troopers stopped him for suspicion of speeding and inside found nine other Hispanic men.
They were later heard on camera suggesting that Abrego Garcia was "hauling these people for money."
Abrego Garcia, meanwhile, is heard telling troopers that he was traveling back home to Maryland after finishing a construction job in St. Louis, Missouri.
Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Peter Joseph testified that his office used license plate reader technology to determine that the SUV had not been anywhere near the St. Louis area in at least 12 months.
Instead, LPR data flagged the SUV around Houston, Texas, just days before the traffic stop.
Joseph said the DHS report was not accurate, and that Abrego Garcia attempted to mislead troopers by saying he was traveling from St. Louis.
He later said he interviewed one of the troopers in the body camera footage, who was certain that Abrego Garcia was smuggling undocumented migrants.
Troopers instructed passengers in the SUV to write down their names, dates of birth, and home addresses.
Joseph said they identified that six out of the nine passengers were in the country illegally, but that the investigation was ongoing.
That's when prosecutors said the last name on the list appeared to have a birth year of 2007, meaning they were approximately 15 years old back in 2022.
They claimed this proves that at least one minor was smuggled through the conspiracy, but argued that many others, including his children, were also a part of several trips allegedly made by Abrego Garcia.
The Court found that the roster’s creation and its connection to Joseph’s testimony were too indirect and unreliable to be given significant weight as evidence.
Defense attorneys also argued that the “7” in the written birth year of 2007 appears to have been modified from a “1.”
Holmes wrote that the basis of the government’s argument is that Abrego Garcia placed at least one minor in harm’s way during these trips across the country.
She argued that if she ruled in favor of the prosecution’s expanded definition of minors being victims in this case, it would allow pretrial detention for anyone who was even remotely close to a minor in the process of a crime.
Holmes points out that Abrego Garcia has not been charged with crimes against minors, and the involvement of a minor is not an element of these charges.
Joseph also interviewed at least five cooperating witnesses, some of whom said Abrego Garcia smuggled not only minors but also fellow gang members and firearms.
At least one cooperating witness claimed that Abrego Garcia was affiliated with the notorious gang MS-13.
Holmes agreed with defense attorneys that they shouldn’t give much weight to the testimony of people who, in some cases, were related and acknowledged their roles in a human smuggling operation.
We learned in court that one of the cooperating witnesses secured himself an early release from prison and a delay of a sixth deportation in exchange for providing information to the government.
Other cooperating witnesses have since requested similar agreements to testify against Abrego Garcia, which defense attorneys say should also face scrutiny.
Prosecutors have suggested that Abrego Garcia’s newfound publicity as the center of the immigration crackdown debate has given him more resources from sympathetic strangers to flee.
Holmes says the government offered no evidence to conclude or even assess the likelihood that Abrego Garcia would do so.
Groups like CASA, which is an advocacy organization providing resources for immigrant communities, have also written a letter offering to provide employment, healthcare, and other social support services to Abrego Garcia.
