Judge Bars Trump Admin From Taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia Into Custody 

A federal judge Wednesday barred the Trump administration from immediately taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into custody should he be released from pretrial incarceration on immigrant smuggling charges.

Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly removed from the U.S. earlier this year and imprisoned in El Salvador, must be returned to Maryland from Tennessee on an order of supervision, the judge also ruled.

“Upon his release from criminal custody in the Middle District of Tennessee, the DefendantsSHALL NOT take Abrego Garcia into custody, including but not limited to custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” District Court Judge Paula Xinis, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, wrote.

While her ruling, should it be followed, prevents the Trump administration from again taking Abrego Garcia into custody after he’s released, it does not wholly prevent ICE from arresting him in the future. If it does, Xinis ordered the Trump administration to provide the court and his counsel 72 hours advance notice of any attempt to deport him again.

Moments after Xinis’ ruling, a separate federal judge ordered Abrego Garcia to be released from jail on bond, saying the government failed to show that he’s a threat to other people or will not appear at future proceedings.

The decisions come after weeks of deliberations between Abrego Garica’s lawyers, the government and the courts over what would happen to him if he was released pending trial. 

The Trump administration repeatedly threatened to immediately detain him and begin deportation proceedings against him if he’s freed pending trial, prompting his lawyers to ask judges to reconsider his release.

A third judge Wednesday granted Abrego Garcia’s motion to stay the issuance of his release order for 30 days, likely meaning he will remain in criminal custody for at least another month.

Months ago, the Trump administration removed Abrego Garcia from the U.S. and transported him to an El Salvadoran prison in violation of a court order. He was held in El Salvador for weeks even after the Supreme Court ordered the government to “facilitate” his return.

Abrego Garcia’s removal sparked outrage across the U.S. amid rising concerns about President Donald Trump’s effort to undermine the right to due process by summarily deporting both legal and nonlegal migrants from the country.

The Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. only after it indicted him for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. The evidence against him relies on allegations from numerous unnamed co-conspirators, some of whom secured benefits in exchange for their testimonies in the case against Abrego Garcia.

Xinis initially ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. in early April. 

The government will likely appeal Xinis’ most-recent order. 

This story has been updated with additional details.