Returned deportee Abrego appears in Tennessee court; future of smuggling case uncertain
NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Kilmar Abrego, the migrant returned to the U.S. after being wrongly deported to El Salvador, appeared in court on Wednesday on human smuggling charges as the future of his criminal case and his presence in the country remain uncertain.
Federal prosecutors are seeking to convince U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tennessee, to reverse a magistrate judge's ruling allowing Abrego to be released on bail to await a trial.
Even if the judge orders him released from criminal custody, which could happen later on Wednesday, President Donald Trump's administration has said Abrego will immediately be detained by immigration authorities and face a second deportation.
Abrego, a 29-year-old Salvadoran migrant who had been living in Maryland, has remained in legal limbo for weeks as Trump administration officials have given conflicting accounts of whether he will be tried in a U.S. court or quickly removed from the country again.
Abrego was deported and imprisoned in his native El Salvador in March despite a 2019 court order barring him from being sent there because of a risk of gang persecution.
Abrego has become one of the most high-profile figures in the Trump administration's sweeping immigration crackdown. Rights groups and administration critics have held up his case as evidence of the administration's willingness to violate legal rights and evade courts in its effort to deport millions living illegally in the U.S.
The Trump administration, which portrays illegal immigration as a grave public safety threat, has alleged Abrego is a member of the MS-13 gang, a charge his lawyers deny.
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The Justice Department brought Abrego back to the U.S. last month after securing an indictment charging him with taking part in a smuggling ring to bring immigrants to the U.S. illegally. He was accused of picking up migrants, including children, near the U.S.-Mexico border and transporting them to locations across the U.S.
Abrego has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers say the Trump administration brought the charges to cover up violations of Abrego's rights, and say alleged co-conspirators cooperating with prosecutors should not be trusted because they are seeking relief from deportation and criminal charges of their own.
A magistrate judge ordered Abrego released on bail last month, finding prosecutors had not shown evidence he needed to be detained before trial. Prosecutors are appealing that ruling and called a Department of Homeland Security investigator as a witness on Wednesday to testify about the probe.
The investigator, Peter Joseph, testified about a November 2022 traffic stop in which Tennessee police pulled over a vehicle Abrego was allegedly driving that had several passengers inside.
Abrego told police at the time he was driving back from a construction site. Authorities allege the trip was part of the smuggling operation.
In an unusual move, Abrego's attorneys asked the judge to delay Abrego's potential release from criminal custody until Wednesday, citing concerns he will be quickly deported without a chance to challenge his removal.
In a separate civil lawsuit over Abrego's wrongful deportation, the Trump administration has indicated it would most likely seek to deport Abrego to a third country, not El Salvador, floating Mexico and South Sudan as options. REUTERS
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