Latest news with #humanSmuggling


France 24
6 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
US judges order Abrego Garcia release, block immediate deportation
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was summarily deported in March along with more than 200 other people to a prison in El Salvador as part of US President Donald Trump's crackdown on migrants. His case has become a key test of Trump's hardline immigration policies. Most of those sent to El Salvador were alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Justice Department lawyers later admitted that Abrego Garcia -- a resident of Maryland who is married to a US citizen -- was wrongly deported due to an "administrative error." Abrego Garcia had been living in the United States under protected legal status since 2019, when a judge ruled he should not be deported because he could be harmed in his home country. He was returned to the United States in June and immediately arrested on human smuggling charges in the southern state of Tennessee. Abrego Garcia's release pending trial has been repeatedly delayed at the request of his lawyers amid fears he would be picked up by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported again. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Tennessee ordered Abrego Garcia's release on bail on Wednesday ahead of his January 27 trial date, and a district judge in Maryland simultaneously blocked ICE from immediately taking him into custody. District Judge Paula Xinis said Abrego Garcia should be brought back to Maryland and ordered the administration to provide at least three days notice before attempting to deport him again. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, criticized the ruling. "The fact this unhinged judge is trying to tell ICE they can't arrest (Abrego Garcia)... under federal law is LAWLESS AND INSANE," McLaughlin said on X. It was not immediately clear when Abrego Garcia would be released. Federal prosecutors have opposed his release and warned that he may be deported once again if he is released from custody. Abrego Garcia is charged in Nashville, Tennessee, with smuggling undocumented migrants around the United States between 2016 and 2025. He has pleaded not guilty. © 2025 AFP


Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Judges Order Abrego Garcia's Release, Bar New Arrest by ICE
Embattled Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia scored a pair of wins against the Trump administration as judges in two states issued rulings supporting his freedom while he fights federal human smuggling charges. Separate decisions Wednesday from Tennessee and Maryland require that Abrego Garcia be freed while he fights the criminal case and prevent immigration agents from arresting him. The US was also ordered give Abrego Garcia 72 hours notice if they plan to deport him to a third country.


Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Judge bars Ice from immediately taking Abrego Garcia into custody if he's released from jail
A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he's released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to an order issued Wednesday. US District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the US government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to initiate deportation proceedings against the Maryland construction worker. The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland for years while he periodically checked in with ICE. Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President Donald Trump's immigration policies following his wrongful expulsion to El Salvador in March. Trump's administration violated a US immigration judge's order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there.


The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Judge bars ICE from immediately taking Abrego Garcia into custody if he's released from jail
A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he's released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to an order issued Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to initiate deportation proceedings against the Maryland construction worker. The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland for years, while he periodically checked in with ICE. Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President Donald Trump's immigration policies following his wrongful explusion to El Salvador in March. Trump's administration violated a U.S. immigration judge's order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there.

Associated Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judge bars ICE from immediately taking Abrego Garcia into custody if he's released from jail
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he's released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to an order issued Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to initiate deportation proceedings against the Maryland construction worker. The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland for years, while he periodically checked in with ICE. Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President Donald Trump's immigration policies following his wrongful explusion to El Salvador in March. Trump's administration violated a U.S. immigration judge's order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there.