A federal judge in Tennessee has ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from prison until his trial on federal charges. Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador, was granted this release by Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville. The judge set conditions for his release, including travel restrictions between his home state of Maryland and parts of Tennessee where his trial will be held, as well as mandatory anger management counseling.
Abrego Garcia is facing federal charges of human smuggling, with prosecutors alleging that he transported thousands of migrants without legal status across the U.S. since 2016. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges and denies being a member of the MS-13 gang. The judge has expressed skepticism about the government’s case and the charges against Abrego Garcia.
After the hearing, there were concerns about Abrego Garcia being taken into ICE custody, but the judge delayed his release by a few days. It is likely that ICE will take him into custody once he is officially released. The judge acknowledged that he may be subject to federal removal proceedings, which fall outside her court’s jurisdiction.
There are uncertainties about Abrego Garcia’s legal future, including whether he will be able to stand trial or be deported before it begins. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has been asked to ensure his availability for court dates, but it remains unclear what actions ICE will take. Abrego Garcia’s legal situation is complex and precarious.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
A federal judge in Tennessee today has ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be released from prison until his trial on federal charges. This is the man the government mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. He was ordered returned to the U.S., but as of today, it’s uncertain whether he will go to trial. Marianna Bacallao from WPLN was in court, where there’s been a series of developments, and she joins us now. Hi, Marianna.
MARIANNA BACALLAO, BYLINE: Hi.
CHANG: OK, so what happened in federal court today?
BACALLAO: Well, this hearing was mainly about the judge setting conditions for Abrego Garcia’s release. Over the weekend, Judge Barbara Holmes, a federal judge in Nashville, denied the government’s ask to keep him in jail until his trial. Now, in a usual trial, this would just be the judge setting conditions, like where the defendant can travel, whether they can access firearms, things like that. And we did get that. The judge determined that Abrego Garcia would only be able to travel between his home state of Maryland and parts of Tennessee, where his trial is being held. She also mandated anger management counseling. That’s in response to the government’s case to keep him in jail. Prosecutors talked about protective orders that Abrego Garcia’s wife had filed. She’s since rescinded them, and she’s talked about how they’re in a much better place now and she just wants to see him home.
CHANG: OK, but what are the specific charges that Abrego Garcia is facing?
BACALLAO: Federal prosecutors charged him with human smuggling. They say that for several years, Abrego Garcia transported thousands of migrants without legal status across the U.S., starting in 2016. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to those charges. The government also accuses him of being a member of the MS-13 street gang. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers argue the charges are just a distraction from the fact that the government hasn’t afforded him due process. Judge Holmes herself has expressed quite a bit of skepticism about the government’s case.
CHANG: So what happened today after the hearing concluded?
BACALLAO: Well, the big question was whether Abrego Garcia would be taken into ICE custody after the hearing. I saw a few Department of Homeland Security vehicles parked outside the courthouse before the hearing began. There were a few agents standing by outside. But the judge has delayed his release by a few days, although a U.S. marshal told me that ICE will likely just take him into custody whenever he’s officially released.
But, you know, ICE’s presence wasn’t really a surprise for either party. In the judge’s discussion of this case, she acknowledged that Abrego Garcia will likely remain in ICE custody regardless of her decision and that it’s possible he’d be subject to federal removal proceedings. She said there wasn’t much she could do about that, adding that it falls outside of her court’s jurisdiction. But she said this hearing on his pretrial release is part of the due process Abrego Garcia is guaranteed.
CHANG: OK. So if Abrego Garcia ends up back in federal custody, what does that mean for him, essentially?
BACALLAO: Well, there are a lot of questions, including whether he’ll be able to stand trial or whether the government will move to deport him before that happens. Today, the judge did ask the U.S. Attorney’s Office to cooperate with DHS and make sure that Abrego Garcia will be available for his court dates. But the prosecution says they’re not in charge of what ICE ultimately does, and that could mean he’s deported before his trial even starts. Either way you look at it, it seems Abrego Garcia is in a very difficult place legally.
CHANG: That is Marianna Bacallao from WPLN. Thank you, Marianna.
BACALLAO: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF TAY IWAR SONG, “REFLECTION STATION”)
Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
