Federal judge denies detention for alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia

A federal judge in Tennessee has denied the government's request to hold Kilmar Abrego Garcia in continued detention while his criminal case proceeds.
Abrego Garcia is a Salvadorian migrant who was erroneously deported to El Salvador before being returned to the U.S. to face federal prosecution on charges of trafficking undocumented migrants and conspiring with others to do so.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes denied the government's request to hold Abrego Garcia, though he will remain in custody until at least a hearing that has been scheduled to determine conditions of release, which the government can, and will likely, appeal.
Abrego Garcia appeared at his arraignment and hearing on the government's detention on June 13. According to the judge's decision on Sunday, "the sole circumstance about which the government and Abrego [Garcia] may agree in this case is the likelihood that Abrego [Garcia] will remain in custody regardless of the outcome of the issues raised in the government's motion for detention."
Holmes said in her decision that the court found no detention hearing is authorized under the Bail Reform Act because the government failed to prove the case involved a minor and that Abrego Garcia is considered a flight risk.
Additionally, the court found that after considering several factors, the government failed to prove that Abrego Garcia poses an irremediable danger to the community.
Still, even if Abrego Garcia is to be released, ICE will arrest and detain him immediately via civil immigration process, separately from the criminal case.
The criminal case against Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member, comes after a high-profile, protracted legal fight over his deportation and the Trump administration's efforts to delay his return to the U.S., even after the Supreme Court ordered the administration to "facilitate" his release earlier this year.
The indictment alleges that Abrego Garica was part of a smuggling ring that helped bring immigrants to the U.S. illegally and smuggle them across the country. According to the indictment, Abrego Garcia and his co-conspirators made at least 100 trips between Texas and Maryland between 2016 and 2025, when he was deported.
Special Agent Peter T. Joseph told prosecutors on June 13 that he was first assigned to Abrego Garcia's case in April 2025, when he was still detained in El Salvador.
Since then, Joseph said, he has reviewed footage from Abrego Garcia's 2022 traffic stop, which has emerged as the basis of the human smuggling charges.
At the time, Joseph told prosecutors, Abrego Garcia had been driving a vehicle with nine passengers and was pulled over while driving from St. Louis to Maryland with an expired license.
Six of the nine passengers in the vehicle have since been identified as being in the U.S. illegally, Joseph said, adding that one passenger in the van told officers that he was born in 2007, which would have made him just 15 at the time.
Abrego Garcia's legal team has vehemently disputed his alleged status as an MS-13 member. Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges.
His case has become a national flashpoint in the broader fight over Trump's hard-line immigration policies in his second White House term.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

35 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Texas governor vetoes bill that would ban all THC products

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill Sunday to ban all THC consumables, allowing the booming market flush with THC-infused vapes, gummies and other products to continue to be sold across the state. Abbott, a Republican, waited until the final moment to veto the bill in what would have been one of the most restrictive THC bans in the country and a significant blow to the state's billion-dollar industry. The law would have made it a misdemeanor to own, manufacture or sell consumable THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, products and was the latest push by states to regulate THC after a 2018 federal law allowed states to regulate hemp, a similar plant to marijuana that can be synthetically processed to produce THC, the compound giving marijuana its psychoactive properties. Loopholes in existing law have allowed many THC-infused goods to enter the market across the country, including states with strict marijuana laws. Texas has some of the strictest marijuana laws in the country, prohibiting all recreational use and providing a limited medical marijuana program. The consumables market has allowed residents to legally access goods giving a similar high to marijuana. Republican lawmakers have criticized the products as dangerous due to a lack of federal oversight in how the goods are manufactured. Texas' ban is one of the more far-reaching among states that have taken similar steps. Several states, including California, have imposed age limits and restrictions on the potency of THC products. Critics of the Texas bill say it allows people who cannot access marijuana through the state's medical marijuana program to acquire goods that can provide a similar relief. Many retailers across the state also pointed to the thousands of jobs and millions in revenue the industry brings each year. Last year, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have put age restrictions on THC consumables, claiming it would hurt small businesses. ___ Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Nadia Lathan, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Associated Press

36 minutes ago

• Associated Press

Texas governor vetoes bill that would ban all THC products

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill Sunday to ban all THC consumables, allowing the booming market flush with THC-infused vapes, gummies and other products to continue to be sold across the state. Abbott, a Republican, waited until the final moment to veto the bill in what would have been one of the most restrictive THC bans in the country and a significant blow to the state's billion-dollar industry. The law would have made it a misdemeanor to own, manufacture or sell consumable THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, products and was the latest push by states to regulate THC after a 2018 federal law allowed states to regulate hemp, a similar plant to marijuana that can be synthetically processed to produce THC, the compound giving marijuana its psychoactive properties. Loopholes in existing law have allowed many THC-infused goods to enter the market across the country, including states with strict marijuana laws. Texas has some of the strictest marijuana laws in the country, prohibiting all recreational use and providing a limited medical marijuana program. The consumables market has allowed residents to legally access goods giving a similar high to marijuana. Republican lawmakers have criticized the products as dangerous due to a lack of federal oversight in how the goods are manufactured. Texas' ban is one of the more far-reaching among states that have taken similar steps. Several states, including California, have imposed age limits and restrictions on the potency of THC products. Critics of the Texas bill say it allows people who cannot access marijuana through the state's medical marijuana program to acquire goods that can provide a similar relief. Many retailers across the state also pointed to the thousands of jobs and millions in revenue the industry brings each year. Last year, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have put age restrictions on THC consumables, claiming it would hurt small businesses. ___ Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Washington Post

39 minutes ago

• Washington Post

ICE detains Marine Corps veteran's wife who was still breastfeeding their baby

BATON ROUGE, La. — Marine Corps veteran Adrian Clouatre doesn't know how to tell his children where their mother went after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained her last month. When his nearly 2-year-old son Noah asks for his mother before bed, Clouatre just tells him, 'Mama will be back soon.' When his 3-month-old, breastfeeding daughter Lyn is hungry, he gives her a bottle of baby formula instead. He's worried how his newborn will bond with her mother absent skin-to-skin contact.