Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongly deported to El Salvador in March, will remain in jail for at least another week over fears that releasing him could trigger a second deportation.
Federal immigration officials have said that they intend to deport Abrego Garcia to a third country like Mexico or South Sudan upon his release.
During a Wednesday hearing, prosecutors argued that Abrego Garcia should be kept in federal custody because they cannot control whether immigration officials deport him before he’s able to stand trial for federal human smuggling charges.
The Justice Department’s witnesses have been given deferred action on their own deportations for cooperating with the government’s case, according to court testimony.
A U.S. magistrate judge had previously ruled that Abrego Garcia was not a flight risk and that he could be released until trial, on the condition that he wear an ankle bracelet and live with his brother in Maryland.
Federal prosecutors appealed to Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who’s expected to rule next week on whether he can be released.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the charges, stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in which he had been pulled over while driving nine other people through Tennessee on the way to Maryland.
Prosecutors allege that for years, Abrego Garcia had been paid to transport people without legal status throughout the country.
The defense has argued that the case against Abrego Garcia is an attempt to justify his wrongful deportation.
The 29-year-old father of three arrived back in the U.S. last month, after the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return. Federal immigration agents deported Abrego Garcia in March despite a court order that he remain in the U.S. over fears of gang violence in his home country.
The Trump administration has alleged that Abrego Garcia belongs to the MS-13 street gang, although a cooperating witness for the government has said that he didn’t show “outward signs” of gang affiliation.
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