Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release delayed after lawyers warn of possible deportation

Washington — A federal magistrate judge said Monday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and then was returned to the United States to face criminal charges of human smuggling, will remain in federal custody until at least mid-July.

Abrego Garcia's lawyers had asked the judge Friday to delay his release, warning that the Trump administration had made conflicting statements about whether he will be deported after he is released ahead of a trial.

The brief order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes is the latest development in the case involving Abrego Garcia, whose removal to El Salvador in March emerged as a flashpoint in President Trump's immigration agenda and promise of mass deportations of immigrants in the U.S. unlawfully.

Abrego Garcia was indicted by a federal grand jury on two charges of human smuggling in late May, after which the government returned him to the U.S. to face federal prosecution. He has pleaded not guilty.

His return came weeks after a federal judge in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia's release from Salvadoran custody, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court. A U.S. immigration official had acknowledged Abrego Garcia's deportation to El Salvador was an administrative error, as he had been granted a legal status in 2019 that prevented the Department of Homeland Security from removing Abrego Garcia to his home country because of likely persecution by local gangs.

After Abrego Garcia was brought back to the U.S. to face the human smuggling offenses, the Justice Department requested he remain detained while awaiting trial. But Holmes earlier this month rejected that request and said he should be granted pretrial release.

The Justice Department appealed that decision, and a U.S. district judge set a hearing for July 16 on the request to revoke Holmes' release order.

But during a hearing last week to review the conditions of Abrego Garcia's release, lawyers for the Salvadoran man and the Justice Department acknowledged that he would likely be detained by the Department of Homeland Security and deported swiftly after being released from Justice Department custody, which would interfere with his criminal proceeding.

Holmes put off issuing her order of release, and Abrego Garcia's lawyers asked her to delay it further because of what they said are conflicting statements about whether he would be removed to a third country — one other than El Salvador — if detained by immigration authorities while awaiting trial.

Federal prosecutors did not oppose the request.

"A short delay will prevent the government from removing Mr. Abrego and allow time for the government to provide reliable information concerning its intentions," Abrego Garcia's lawyers wrote in a filing to Holmes.

The magistrate judge agreed to the request and said Abrego Garcia will remain in the custody of U.S. Marshals to allow for the July 16 hearing and a decision on the government's bid to revoke his release order.

Holmes said Abrego Garcia should be held separately from others waiting or serving sentences and given a "reasonable opportunity" to privately meet with his lawyers.