(The Hill) – Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported but returned to the U.S., has been released from a Tennessee jail and is headed to Maryland, his lawyer told The Hill.
His lawyer, Sean Hecker, confirmed to The Hill that he has been released from criminal custody and is en route to his family.
Hecker said in a statement that Abrego Garcia was “unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government’s vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the Administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law.”
“Today, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free,” Hecker said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes signed the order for Abrego Garcia’s release on Friday.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys wrote in court filings earlier this week that they had hired a private security company to assist in his transport from Tennessee to Maryland.
The release marks the first time Abrego Garcia has been outside the custody of either U.S. or government officials since March when he was deported due to an “administrative error” and sent to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador.
But the release also raises questions about what comes next for Abrego Garcia, who faces federal human smuggling charges.
Trump administration officials have said they may seek to deport Abrego Garcia again.
While a 2019 ruling from an immigration judge prohibits his return to his native El Salvador, Trump officials have mused about sending Abrego Garcia to a third country. He is married to a U.S. citizen, and together they have a child who is a U.S. citizen.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who has been overseeing Abrego Garcia’s civil lawsuit in Maryland, limited what Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can do upon his release after chastising the agency for being vague about its plans.
She barred ICE from taking Abrego Garcia into immediate custody in Tennessee, ordered the restoration of his ICE supervision order in Baltimore and directed the administration to provide 72-hours’ notice to Abrego Garcia and his counsel if they intend to remove him to a third country.
“Defendants have done little to assure the Court that absent intervention, Abrego Garcia’s due process rights will be protected,” Xinis wrote in the July 23 order.
Abrego Garcia was brought back to the U.S. to face human trafficking charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, during which he was pulled over for speeding and was seen transporting men without luggage.
Abrego Garcia has denied wrongdoing and his legal team has sought to dismiss the case, arguing the charges were the result of a vindictive and selective prosecution.
In that filing, his attorneys note an associate of Abrego Garcia who has been deported multiple times was given a work permit in exchange for his testimony.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been singled out by the United States government. It is obvious why. And it is not because of the seriousness of his alleged conduct. Nor is it because he poses some unique threat to this country. Instead, Mr. Abrego was charged because he refused to acquiesce in the government’s violation of his due process rights,” his attorneys wrote in the Tuesday filing.
Updated at 4:38 p.m. EDT
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