Judge denies motion to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia, sets hearing on release

[spanone]

Right here in my Hometown. Nashville, TN.

A federal magistrate judge in Tennessee has denied the government's motion to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man illegally deported to El Salvador in March, while the criminal charges against him are pending in federal court in Nashville.

A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25 in Nashville.
Abrego Garcia, 29, of Maryland, is accused of conspiracy to transport aliens and unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens.

The court "will give (Abrego Garcia) the due process that he is guaranteed," U.S. Magistrate Barbara D. Holmes wrote in her June 22 decision.

In a 51-page ruling, Holmes said the federal government “failed to meet its burden of showing a properly supported basis for detention a properly supported basis for detention on grounds that (Abrego Garcia) poses an irremediable danger to the community or is likely not to appear.”

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2025/06/22/kilmar-abrego-garcia-judge-denies-motion-to-detain-sets-hearing-on-release/84114012007/

[elleng]

1. 'the federal government "failed to meet its burden of showing a properly supported basis for detention

on grounds that (Abrego Garcia) poses an irremediable danger to the community or is likely not to appear.”'

[spanone]

2. That's because they just made all those charges up. The government LIED.

That's trmp.

[regnaD kciN]

3. The question is...

…if he’s granted release until trial, won’t ICE just swoop back in and send him to Louisiana (if not back to CECOT)?

[D. Spaulding]

4. Yes, they're almost coming out and saying it's almost sure that ICE will pick him up;

"However, although many are characterizing the judge’s decision as a major blow to the administration of President Donald Trump on this issue, as the AP and other outlets note, it won’t actually result in Abrego Garcia walking free until the trial starts. Instead, they report, ICE plans to immediately pick him up and possibly deport him again. although many are characterizing the judge’s decision as a major blow to the administration of President Donald Trump on this issue, as the AP and other outlets note, it won’t actually result in Abrego Garcia walking free until the trial starts. Instead, they report, ICE plans to immediately pick him up and possibly deport him again."

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/judge-denies-govt-bid-to-keep-kilmar-abrego-garcia-in-jail-but-he-still-wont-go-free/

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. AP/WTOP

Judge will order Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release before trial, but ICE plans to detain him

The Associated Press
June 22, 2025, 8:25 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge in Tennessee plans to order the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation to El Salvador has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, while he awaits a federal trial on human smuggling charges.

But Abrego Garcia is not expected to go free because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will likely take him into custody and possibly try to deport him.

In a ruling on Sunday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes denied the U.S. government’s motion to keep Abrego Garcia in detention before his trial. She scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to discuss the conditions of his release.

{snip}

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Deadline: Legal Blog-Judge stresses due process while rejecting bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending trial

The judge noted that her ruling could be seen as an "academic exercise" if Abrego Garcia just winds up held in immigration custody, anyway.

1/4

MSNBC - Deadline: Legal Blog - Judge stresses due process while rejecting bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending trial

The judge noted that her ruling could be seen as an "academic exercise" if Abrego Garcia just winds up held in immigration custody, anyway.

— Lola Gayle (@lolagaylec.bsky.social) 2025-06-23T12:15:40.055Z

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/kilmar-abrego-garcia-judge-orders-release-detention-trump-rcna212833

A federal judge on Sunday rejected the Justice Department's bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending his federal criminal trial in Tennessee, citing the importance of due process while noting that he could still separately be held by immigration authorities.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes began her 51-page ruling by observing that the only thing the government and Abrego Garcia might agree on is the likelihood that he will stay in custody regardless of her detention ruling, given the government's intention to separately detain him in U.S. immigration custody. While that could make her ruling an “academic exercise,” Holmes stressed that she needed to give the defendant “the due process that he is guaranteed.”

A judge saying that she is going to enforce the Constitution might have been an obvious statement hardly worth writing before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. But today it calls to mind the administration’s failure to provide that baseline guarantee in multiple cases, perhaps none more infamous than Abrego Garcia’s.

So, regardless of the outcome of this criminal case and any subsequent deportation efforts by the government, it’s remarkable that merely mentioning the necessity of due process stands as a rebuke against the administration that fought to avoid providing it in this case and is still fighting to avoid providing it in others.....

In her ruling on Sunday, Holmes said the government failed to make its case that Abrego Garcia is enough of a flight risk or danger to the community to warrant holding him ahead of trial. She said that she would set a hearing for Wednesday to review the conditions of his release.

But the DOJ quickly filed a motion to a U.S. District Court judge in Tennessee on Sunday, arguing that Holmes’ impending release order should be halted. The motion notes that Abrego Garcia “has an immigration detainer lodged against him by the Department of Homeland Security,” adding that “he will remain in custody pending deportation and Judge Holmes’ release order would not immediately release him to the community under any circumstance.”

The success of that government motion and any further appeal on the detention issue in the coming days could derail Abrego Garcia’s release in the criminal case, regardless of any separate immigration detention.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. Deadline: Legal Blog-The Trump administration's MS-13 case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia crumbled in court

A federal judge rejected the government’s claim of Abrego’s gang membership while denying the broader effort to detain him pretrial.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms-13-trump-administration-rcna214530

Before the Trump administration finally returned Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. this month, officials kept claiming he belonged to the deadly MS-13 gang. Even if true, that wouldn’t have been a valid reason for the government to avoid compliance with a court order for his return after illegally sending him to El Salvador in March.

But in any event, it shouldn’t escape notice that a federal judge just picked apart the gang claim that the Justice Department has continued to push since his return.

That picking-apart came in Sunday’s ruling that rejected the DOJ’s bid to detain Abrego ahead of trial on criminal charges the government had waiting for him upon his return. He pleaded not guilty to allegations of illegally transporting undocumented immigrants. (U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes’ opinion Sunday noted that his preferred surname is “Abrego,” after he has been consistently referred to in court documents and reports as “Abrego Garcia.”)

Abrego’s criminal charges don’t hinge on whether he’s a gang member. But the issue arose in Holmes’ detention ruling because the government argued that his alleged gang membership supported his detention. “The Government’s investigation has revealed that the defendant has a long history and association with MS-13,” prosecutors wrote ahead of a June 13 hearing.

But in her ruling following the hearing, Holmes said the government’s evidence of Abrego’s MS-13 membership “consists of general statements, all double hearsay, from two cooperating witnesses.” She said those statements, in turn, are contradicted by another witness who, the judge wrote, said that “in ten years of acquaintance with Abrego, there were no signs or markings, including tattoos, indicating that Abrego is an MS-13 member.” Given the conflicting evidence, the judge wrote, “the government’s evidence of Abrego’s alleged gang membership is simply insufficient.”

So, after months of the administration insisting on Abrego’s gang membership (again, not that it would excuse failing to return him as required by court order issued in April), there was a clear chance to prove it in court. The government failed to do so......

But the failure to support the MS-13 claim is indicative of an amateurishness that has marked the government’s conduct throughout this sordid affair. If it’s a sign of things to come, it could bode well for Abrego’s legal fight.