Judge denies government's motion to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Source: ABC News
A magistrate judge in Tennessee has denied the government's motion to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the mistakenly deported Salvadoran native who was brought back to the United States earlier this month.
In her order on Sunday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes said the court "will give Abrego the due process that he is guaranteed."
Judge Holmes scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to review the conditions of release.
Abrego Garcia faces criminal charges for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/judge-denies-governments-motion-detain-kilmar-abrego-garcia/story?id=123105021
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NEWS: A federal magistrate judge DENIES the government’s motion to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody while his criminal charges are pending.
— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) 2025-06-22T22:28:27.573Z
“A separate order will enter, following hearing, directing Abrego's release on conditions.â€
Read the full order here
Link to tweet
Full order available here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) 2025-06-22T22:28:58.528Z
A federal judge rejected the government’s claim of Abrego’s gang membership while denying the broader effort to detain him pretrial.
Link to tweet
https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms-13-trump-administration-rcna214530
But in any event, it shouldn’t escape notice that a federal judge just picked apart the gang claim that the Justice Department has continued to push since his return.
That picking-apart came in Sunday’s ruling that rejected the DOJ’s bid to detain Abrego ahead of trial on criminal charges the government had waiting for him upon his return. He pleaded not guilty to allegations of illegally transporting undocumented immigrants. (U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes’ opinion Sunday noted that his preferred surname is “Abrego,” after he has been consistently referred to in court documents and reports as “Abrego Garcia.”)
Abrego’s criminal charges don’t hinge on whether he’s a gang member. But the issue arose in Holmes’ detention ruling because the government argued that his alleged gang membership supported his detention. “The Government’s investigation has revealed that the defendant has a long history and association with MS-13,” prosecutors wrote ahead of a June 13 hearing.
But in her ruling following the hearing, Holmes said the government’s evidence of Abrego’s MS-13 membership “consists of general statements, all double hearsay, from two cooperating witnesses.” She said those statements, in turn, are contradicted by another witness who, the judge wrote, said that “in ten years of acquaintance with Abrego, there were no signs or markings, including tattoos, indicating that Abrego is an MS-13 member.” Given the conflicting evidence, the judge wrote, “the government’s evidence of Abrego’s alleged gang membership is simply insufficient.”
So, after months of the administration insisting on Abrego’s gang membership (again, not that it would excuse failing to return him as required by court order issued in April), there was a clear chance to prove it in court. The government failed to do so......
But the failure to support the MS-13 claim is indicative of an amateurishness that has marked the government’s conduct throughout this sordid affair. If it’s a sign of things to come, it could bode well for Abrego’s legal fight.