Judge denies government's motion to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia

[groundloop]

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

[bsiebs]

1. Well.. a good decision.. due process is nice...

[BOSSHOG]

5. Trump can tell us all about due process

He’s an expert on the subject.

[BidenRocks]

2. Justice delayed....

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. This makes me smile

NEWS: A federal magistrate judge DENIES the government’s motion to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody while his criminal charges are pending.

“A separate order will enter, following hearing, directing Abrego's release on conditions.”

— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) 2025-06-22T22:28:27.573Z

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

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. " So Pam Bondi is letting a criminal alien run free to try to prosecute KAG."

Garrett M. Graff
‪@vermontgmg.bsky.social‬

Follow
The corruption reeks.

‪emptywheel‬
‪@emptywheel.bsky.social‬
· 33m
Magistrate Judge Holmes describes that USG wants to free THREE people, two of them far more serious criminals than KAG Is alleged to be, to prosecute KAG.

One has already been freed to halfway house.

So Pam Bondi is letting a criminal alien run free to try to prosecute KAG.
The first cooperator, who provided interview statements and grand jury testimony, has two
prior felony convictions, has previously been deported five times, and was released early from a
30-month federal prison sentence for human smuggling as part of his cooperation in this case. He
is the purported domestic leader of the human smuggling organization in which Abrego is accused
of participating. He has been granted deferred action on deportation in exchange for his testimony.
Special Agent Joseph acknowledged on cross-examination that the first cooperator will likely be
granted work release as part of the conditions of the halfway house in which he currently resides
following his early release from prison.
The second cooperator is also an avowed member of the human smuggling organization
and is presently in custody charged with a federal crime for which he hopes to be released in
exchange for his cooperating grand jury testimony. He has also been previously deported and has
requested deferred action on deportation in exchange for his cooperation. The second cooperator
is a closely related family member of the first cooperator.
The first female cooperator is also closely related to the first and second male cooperators.
She testified before a federal grand jury in Texas about the investigation of Abrego and has
requested deferred action on deportation in exchange for her cooperation. Special Agent Joseph
did not personally interview this first female cooperator.
ALT
June 22, 2025 at 7:35 PM

The corruption reeks.

— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social) 2025-06-22T23:35:57.727Z

[BumRushDaShow]

6. The AP version had noted that once he is released

he'll be back to being detained by ICE again. It's literally like pure vindictiveness because they went so far out on the limb with nothing for face-saving except digging deeper and deeper.

Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release from jail before trial, but ICE plans to detain him

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. Wow, the Federal Courts are calling BS on the Trump DOJ's accusations and attempts to hold Abrego Garcia.

The indictment of Garcia does not pass this judge's smell test

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Judge Holmes expressed doubt that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13.

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. Deadline: Legal Blog-Judge stresses due process while rejecting bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending trial

The judge noted that her ruling could be seen as an "academic exercise" if Abrego Garcia just winds up held in immigration custody, anyway.

1/4

MSNBC - Deadline: Legal Blog - Judge stresses due process while rejecting bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending trial

The judge noted that her ruling could be seen as an "academic exercise" if Abrego Garcia just winds up held in immigration custody, anyway.

— Lola Gayle (@lolagaylec.bsky.social) 2025-06-23T12:15:40.055Z

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/kilmar-abrego-garcia-judge-orders-release-detention-trump-rcna212833

A federal judge on Sunday rejected the Justice Department's bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending his federal criminal trial in Tennessee, citing the importance of due process while noting that he could still separately be held by immigration authorities.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes began her 51-page ruling by observing that the only thing the government and Abrego Garcia might agree on is the likelihood that he will stay in custody regardless of her detention ruling, given the government's intention to separately detain him in U.S. immigration custody. While that could make her ruling an “academic exercise,” Holmes stressed that she needed to give the defendant “the due process that he is guaranteed.”

A judge saying that she is going to enforce the Constitution might have been an obvious statement hardly worth writing before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. But today it calls to mind the administration’s failure to provide that baseline guarantee in multiple cases, perhaps none more infamous than Abrego Garcia’s.

So, regardless of the outcome of this criminal case and any subsequent deportation efforts by the government, it’s remarkable that merely mentioning the necessity of due process stands as a rebuke against the administration that fought to avoid providing it in this case and is still fighting to avoid providing it in others.....

In her ruling on Sunday, Holmes said the government failed to make its case that Abrego Garcia is enough of a flight risk or danger to the community to warrant holding him ahead of trial. She said that she would set a hearing for Wednesday to review the conditions of his release.

But the DOJ quickly filed a motion to a U.S. District Court judge in Tennessee on Sunday, arguing that Holmes’ impending release order should be halted. The motion notes that Abrego Garcia “has an immigration detainer lodged against him by the Department of Homeland Security,” adding that “he will remain in custody pending deportation and Judge Holmes’ release order would not immediately release him to the community under any circumstance.”

The success of that government motion and any further appeal on the detention issue in the coming days could derail Abrego Garcia’s release in the criminal case, regardless of any separate immigration detention.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Deadline: Legal Blog-The Trump administration's MS-13 case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia crumbled in court

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

Before the Trump administration finally returned Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. this month, officials kept claiming he belonged to the deadly MS-13 gang. Even if true, that wouldn’t have been a valid reason for the government to avoid compliance with a court order for his return after illegally sending him to El Salvador in March.

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.