Kilmar Abrego Garcia Free From Detention, Returning to Maryland

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was wrongly removed from the U.S. and imprisoned in El Salvador earlier this year, was released from custody in Tennessee Friday, allowing him to return to Maryland while awaiting trial on immigrant smuggling charges.

Abrego Garcia’s release came after weeks of deliberations between Abrego Garcia’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 federal judge last month ruled that Abrego Garcia must be returned to Maryland from Tennessee on an order of supervision and barred the Trump administration from immediately taking him into custody upon release.

“Today, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyer Sean Hecker said in a statement to Fox 17 Nashville. 

“He is presently en route to his family in Maryland, after being unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government’s vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the Administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law. He is grateful that his access to American courts has provided meaningful due process.”

Abrego Garcia was imprisoned in El Salvador for over two months after being removed from the U.S. through an “administrative error” by the Trump administration. The government returned him to the U.S. after indicting him for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants.

Abrego Garica’s removal sparked outrage across the country amid rising concerns over President Donald Trump’s effort to undermine due process rights by summarily deporting legal and illegal immigrants.

Multiple federal judges found Abrego Garcia eligible for pretrial release but he remained in jail for weeks at his lawyers’ request over fears that the Trump administration would attempt to remove him to Mexico or South Sudan.

While last month’s order from Judge Paula Xinis 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.

Xinis, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, ordered the Trump administration to give the court and Abrego Garcia’s counsel 72 hours advance notice of any attempt to deport him again.

The order stemmed from Abrego Garcia’s ongoing lawsuit against his removal to El Salvador. 

In the immigrant smuggling case against him, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers this week filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the Department of Justice is engaging in a vindictive prosecution against Abrego Garcia and seeking to penalize him for asserting his rights.

This breaking news story has been updated with additional details throughout.

Late Update (Aug. 23, 2025): Hours after his release, ICE notified Abrego Garcia of their intention to deport him to Uganda, “no earlier than 72 hours from now,” and ordering him to report to an ICE facility in Baltimore on Monday. His lawyers are expected to challenge the attempted deportation.