Magistrate judge Barbara Holmes ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from criminal custody in Tennessee, allowing him to leave custody for the first time since his June return to the United States. The 30-year-old was deported to El Salvador in March and accused by the Trump administration of MS-13 affiliation, a claim he and his family deny. Court documents filed by his lawyers allege physical and psychological torture at El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot). Widespread pressure and a supreme court order prompted federal officials to return him in June. Federal prosecutors charged him with human smuggling; his criminal trial is expected in January. Abrego plans to return to Maryland, where he lived and worked for over a decade, and his lawyers have hired a private security firm to transport him from Tennessee to Maryland.
On Friday, magistrate judge Barbara Holmes issued an order allowing the Maryland father of two to leave custody for the first time since his return to the US in June, following his wrongful deportation to El Salvador earlier this year. The 30-year-old was initially deported by federal immigration officials in March. According to the Trump administration, Abrego was affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim Abrego and his family vehemently deny.
During his detention at El Salvador's so-called Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), Abrego was physically and psychologically tortured, according to court documents filed by his lawyers in July. Following Abrego's wrongful deportation, the Trump administration faced widespread pressure to return him back to the US, including from a supreme court order that directed federal officials to facilitate his return. In June, the Trump administration returned Abrego from El Salvador, only to charge him with crimes related to human smuggling, which his lawyers have rejected as preposterous.
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