By Steve Neavling
A federal judge on Sunday ordered the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from criminal custody, sharply criticizing prosecutors for portraying the Salvadoran immigrant as a dangerous gang member without credible evidence.
U.S. District Judge Barbara D. Holmes ruled that Abrego Garcia is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, rejecting claims by the Trump administration that he is a violent member of MS-13, The New York Times reports. The decision came as Abrego Garcia awaits trial in Nashville on charges of smuggling undocumented immigrants across the U.S.
Although Holmes ordered his release, Abrego Garcia will likely remain in immigration custody as his criminal case moves forward.
The ruling marks the first judicial assessment of the smuggling charges filed after he was returned to the U.S. last month. He had been deported to El Salvador in what officials now admit was a mistake, and was later indicted and brought back amid pressure from a separate federal civil case in Maryland. The judge in that case has threatened to hold Justice Department officials in contempt for failing to comply with orders to return him.
“We are pleased by the court’s thoughtful analysis and its express recognition that Mr. Abrego Garcia is entitled both to due process and the presumption of innocence, both of which our government has worked quite hard to deny him,” said defense attorney Sean Hecker.
Much of Holmes’s ruling focused on the testimony of Homeland Security agent Peter Joseph, who said Abrego Garcia earned up to $100,000 annually transporting immigrants from Texas to Maryland. Joseph also alleged Abrego Garcia trafficked drugs and guns and used construction jobs as a cover story.
But Holmes questioned the reliability of those claims, noting that cooperating witnesses were seeking immigration benefits. She also pushed back on prosecutors’ repeated references to “trafficking,” emphasizing that Abrego Garcia is charged only with human smuggling.
“To be clear, the offenses of which Abrego is charged are human smuggling, not human trafficking,” she wrote. “Although ‘smuggling’ and ‘trafficking’ were sometimes used interchangeably during the detention hearing, there is a distinct difference between the two under the law. They are not transposable.”
Prosecutors said Abrego Garcia was stopped in November 2022 in Tennessee with nine passengers in a modified SUV. He claimed they were returning from construction work in St. Louis, but investigators said GPS and license plate data placed him in Texas earlier that day.
The government also accused him of being a longtime MS-13 member, but Holmes found no evidence to support that, pointing out he has no criminal record and that informants’ statements contradicted each other.
She also dismissed allegations that he acted inappropriately toward female passengers, saying there was no credible evidence to support the claim.
Federal prosecutors have asked Holmes to stay the release order. Meanwhile, a judge in Maryland is still weighing possible sanctions against Trump-era officials for delaying Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S.
