A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Kilmar Ábrego García must be released from jail as he awaits trial on human smuggling charges.
The decision from judge Waverly Crenshaw means that Donald Trump’s administration can potentially attempt to deport the Maryland father of two to his native El Salvador or a third country for a second time.
Crenshaw, sitting in Nashville, agreed with an earlier decision by a magistrate judge, concluding that prosecutors had not provided enough evidence to show Ábrego is either a danger to the public or a flight risk.
The judge said in his decision that the government “fails to show by a preponderance of the evidence – let alone clear and convincing evidence – that Abrego is such a danger to others or the community that such concerns cannot be mitigated by conditions of release”.
Despite the bail ruling, Ábrego is not expected to walk free. His legal team has requested a 30-day delay in implementing the decision, opting to keep him in criminal detention while they consider next steps.
Meanwhile, in a separate courtroom in Maryland, US district judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing a civil case Ábrego filed, issued a 72-hour freeze on any further attempts by the Trump administration to deport him. Xinis ruled that Ábrego must be returned to Maryland on an order of supervision.
“The Court shares Plaintiffs’ ongoing concern that, absent meaningful safeguards, Defendants may once again remove Ábrego from the United States without having restored him to the status quo ante and without due process,” Xinis wrote in the ruling. “Thus, additional relief is necessary.”
Trump administration officials have previously stated that if Ábrego is released from criminal custody, he would be immediately transferred to immigration detention and face a second deportation, this time not to El Salvador.
Immigration proceedings would begin right away and could lead to Ábrego’s removal from the US before his criminal trial, despite the administration’s earlier pledge that he would be prosecuted in an American court.
The 30-year old was wrongfully deported by federal immigration officials in March. According to the Trump administration, Ábrego was affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim that Ábrego and his family vehemently deny.
Following Ábrego’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 Ábrego from El Salvador, only to then hit him with a slew of human smuggling charges, which his lawyers have rejected as “preposterous”.
Prior to his deportation, Ábrego had lived in Maryland for over a decade, working in construction, and was married to an American wife.
