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Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Outrage as federal judge orders release of 'Maryland man' migrant accused of shocking criminal past
A Tennessee judge sparked outrage after ordering human smuggling- accused migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be released from detention ahead of his hearing. Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes said the federal government failed to prove that Abrego 'poses an irremediable danger to the community or is not likely to appear' at court. Abrego, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador by the Trump Administration in March, was arrested on charges of human smuggling upon his return. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Tennessee case goes back to November 2022 when he was pulled over for a traffic stop in Putnam County with nine 'Hispanic males' in his vehicle. This lead a state trooper to suspect him of human trafficking, according to Department of Homeland Security records. However, the 29-year-old was allowed to go free without charge. He was subsequently deported back to El Salvador after being accused of being a member of the notorious MS-13 gang - an allegation he denies - despite a 2019 federal order saying he couldn't be deported to the country over fears of prosecution. 'Abrego, like every person arrested on federal criminal charges, is entitled to a full and fair determination of whether he must remain in federal custody pending trial,' Holmes argued in her memorandum. 'The Court will give Abrego the due process that he is guaranteed.' Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes said the federal government 'failed to meet its burden of showing a properly supported basis for detention on grounds that Abrego poses an irremediable danger to the community or is not likely to appear' The Tennessee judge also argued that the likelihood Abrego would be free before trial were slim, as he would likely be in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'Perhaps the sole circumstance about which the government and Abrego may agree in this case is the likelihood that Abrego will remain in custody regardless of the outcome of the issues raised in the government's motion for detention,' she wrote. Holmes also criticized the Trump Administration for interchangeably using the terms 'human trafficking' and 'human smuggling,' as they are two distinctly different things under the law and Abrego has only been charged with the latter. The conditions of his release will be determined on Wednesday. The federal government quickly filed a request to stay the order to keep the Maryland resident behind bars so the court could, 'conduct meaningful review' of the custody order. 'He will remain in custody pending deportation and Judge Holmes' release order would not immediately release him to the community under any circumstance,' the Sunday request said. Despite the government's continued efforts to keep him locked up, Abrego's lawyer, Sean Hecker, said they were, 'pleased by the court's thoughtful analysis'. 'And its express recognition that Mr. Abrego Garcia is entitled both to due process and the presumption of innocence, both of which our government has worked quite hard to deny him,' Hecker said, according to The New York Times. Abrego's Tennessee charges came as the Justice Department began working to find a reason to justify the migrant's deportation to El Salvador. The government later admitted his deportation was a mistake. Prosecutors accuse Abrego of lying to police during the 2022 incident, claiming he told them he and the nine other men were coming home from doing construction work in St. Louis, Missouri. However, phone records showed the Maryland resident was in Texas that morning. Prosecutors allege the father made $100,000 per year illegally transporting migrants across the country. They also alleged he transported guns and drugs as well. Holmes doubted the argument and said the government had contradictory evidence, including about whether or not Abrego is apart of the MS-13 gang. 'The government alleges that Abrego is a longtime, well-known member of MS-13,'s she wrote. 'But Abrego has no reported criminal history of any kind. And his reputed gang membership is contradicted by the government's own evidence.' Holmes' memorandum comes days before the Justice Department is supposed to determine if Trump officials should face penalties for contempt after ignoring a court order to free Abrego from El Salvador.
New York Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Orders Salvadoran Man Released on Smuggling Charges
In a sharp rebuke to the Justice Department, a federal judge said on Sunday that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia should be freed from criminal custody as he awaits trial on smuggling charges after his wrongful deportation to El Salvador and return to the United States. In a scathing order, the judge, Barbara D. Holmes, ruled that Mr. Abrego Garcia was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community. The decision undermined repeated claims by President Trump and some of his top aides who have described the Salvadoran immigrant as a violent gang member, even a terrorist. But the decision by Judge Holmes, filed in Federal District Court in Nashville, was likely to be a short-lived victory for Mr. Abrego Garcia and his defense team. The judge acknowledged that he would probably remain in the custody of immigration officials, as his charges of smuggling undocumented immigrants across the United States moved through the courts. Judge Holmes's ruling was the first judicial evaluation of the charges filed against Mr. Abrego Garcia since he was suddenly brought back to U.S. soil last month after prosecutors indicted him in Nashville. The decision to get him out of Salvadoran custody came as the Justice Department was under mounting pressure in a separate civil case. The judge in that case has threatened to hold administration officials in contempt for their serial evasions and delays in complying with her order to free him from El Salvador. Federal prosecutors immediately asked Judge Holmes to put the decision to free Mr. Abrego Garcia on hold, even as his lawyers hailed it. 'We are pleased by the court's thoughtful analysis and its express recognition that Mr. Abrego Garcia is entitled both to due process and the presumption of innocence, both of which our government has worked quite hard to deny him,' Sean Hecker, one of the defense lawyers, said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
