Judges issue flurry of rulings in Abrego Garcia case

A U.S. magistrate judge on Wednesday granted alleged gangster and illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s motion to pause his release from criminal custody for 30 days. Judge Barbara Holmes said Abrego Garcia could remain in the custody of U.S. Marshals while evaluating his legal options to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from attempting to deport him. As a magistrate judge, Holmes handles cases referred by judges in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran accused of being an MS-13 gang member, made headlines in April when he was deported to El Salvador despite previously living under temporary legal status in Maryland. He eventually returned to the United States after a legal battle to face charges that included human smuggling, to which he pleaded not guilty. Holmes’ Wednesday ruling keeping Abrego Garcia in the marshals’ custody came just after a U.S. district judge on Wednesday denied the government’s request to revoke his release order. The district judge found that Abrego Garcia didn’t pose a significant flight risk and should be released to wait for his trial.

What other decision regarding Abrego Garcia happened on Wednesday? A U.S. district judge in Maryland, Paula Xinis, blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Tennessee from immediately taking him into custody if he’s released. Instead, they should put him under an order of supervision from the agency’s Baltimore field office, allowing him to return to Maryland, she said. Xinis also ruled that the government must give Abrego Garcia written notice of any plans to deport him to a third country at least 72 hours beforehand, to give him time to seek legal options.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s story on the June release order in Abrego Garcia’s case.