Judge will consider Abrego Garcia's request to try to avoid deportation before his trial [View all]
Source: AP
Updated 10:42 AM EDT, July 10, 2025
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday will consider Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s request to be sent to Maryland to await trial on human smuggling charges, a bid aimed at preventing the Trump administration from trying to deport him again.
Abrego Garcia could be released as soon as next week from a jail in Tennessee. He is being held in connection with 2022 traffic stop for speeding in the state during which he was driving a vehicle with nine passengers without luggage. A U.S. Justice Department attorney has said immigration officials would detain Abrego Garcia and initiate deportation proceedings, possibly denying him the chance to defend himself at trial.
Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration policies when the Salvadoran national was wrongfully deported to his native country in March. Facing mounting pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court order, the administration returned him last month to face the smuggling charges.
But federal prosecutor Jonathan Guynn told U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland on Monday that the government plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a country other than El Salvador.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/kilmar-abrego-garcia-deportation-trump-ms13-maryland-5e68f22f5526d748322fe287d87ee457
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