Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawyers ask judge to release him from custody pending trial [View all]

Last edited Thu Jun 12, 2025, 10:16 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Politico

06/11/2025 08:17 PM EDT


Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man illegally deported to his native country in March and returned to the U.S. last week to face human trafficking charges, say the Trump administration is compounding his mistreatment by trying to keep him in jail while awaiting trial.

“Mr. Abrego Garcia asks the Court for what he has been denied the past several months — due process,” his lawyers, four appointed public defenders, argued in a 20-page filing to a federal magistrate judge in Nashville, Tennessee, where Abrego Garcia was secretly indicted last month ahead of his return.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Holmes has set a hearing for Friday on whether Abrego Garcia should be detained as he awaits trial. However, even if she opts against detention in the criminal case, Abrego Garcia will likely be put in immigration custody and his prospects for release there are uncertain.

Holmes has given both sides a deadline of noon local time Thursday to indicate whether they plan to call witnesses at the hearing. However, defense attorneys argue in the new filing that the crimes Abrego Garcia was charged with don’t permit pretrial detention in most circumstances.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/11/kilmar-abrego-garcia-criminal-trial-00401951