US court orders release of Kilmar Ábrego García from criminal custody

A court has ordered the release of Kilmar Ábrego García from criminal custody in Tennessee.

On Friday, magistrate judge Barbara Holmes issued an order allowing the Maryland father of two to leave custody for the first time since his return to the US in June, following his wrongful deportation to El Salvador earlier this year.

The 30-year-old was initially wrongfully deported by federal immigration officials in March. According to the Trump administration, Ábrego was affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim Ábrego and his family vehemently deny.

During his detention at El Salvador’s so-called Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), Ábrego was physically and psychologically tortured, according to court documents filed by his lawyers in July.

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 hit him with a slew of human smuggling charges, which his lawyers have rejected as “preposterous”. His criminal trial is expected to begin in January.

Prior to his deportation, Ábrego had lived in Maryland for over a decade, working in construction while being married to an American wife.

Following his release, Ábrego plans to return to Maryland. In a court filing this week, his lawyers stated that they have hired a “private security firm that has experience providing court-approved pre-trial transportation and security services in criminal cases” to transport Ábrego from Tennessee to Maryland.

More details soon ...