NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TNND) — Immigration officials say they will not re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia while a court order remains in effect, as an unsealed court order suggests his prosecution on human smuggling charges was improperly motivated after his mistaken deportation, court records show.
ICE said it would take him back into custody if the order were lifted, Liana J. Castano, an assistant director for field operations, wrote in the filing obtained by The Associated Press.
Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old Salvadoran national, has been accused by President Donald Trump’s administration of being a member of the MS-13 gang. He has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland since immigrating illegally from El Salvador as a teenager.
His case drew national attention after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March and brought back to the United States in June under a court order. In the meantime, federal authorities in Tennessee issued an arrest warrant in May, charging him with human smuggling. He has pleaded not guilty.
Abrego Garcia is now seeking to have the case dismissed, arguing the prosecution is vindictive and meant to punish him for the embarrassment caused by his mistaken deportation.
To support that claim, his lawyers have sought internal government documents showing how prosecutors decided in 2025 to pursue charges over an incident that occurred in 2022.
U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. canceled Abrego Garcia’s trial on Dec. 26 and scheduled a Jan. 28 hearing to determine whether the case is being pursued vindictively. If prosecutors cannot justify their actions, the charges could be dismissed.
A newly unsealed order released Monday shows Justice Department officials pushed for Abrego Garcia’s indictment after his deportation, describing the case as a “top priority.”
Crenshaw cited an April email from Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh stating that Abrego Garcia’s prosecution was a “top priority” for the deputy attorney general’s office.
Other documents, the judge wrote, suggest the decision was not made solely by local prosecutors but involved senior Justice Department officials.
“The government’s documents may contradict its prior representations that the decision to prosecute was made locally and that there were no outside influences,” Crenshaw wrote, noting the communications occurred while Abrego Garcia was still being held in El Salvador.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland has sharply questioned whether immigration officials can be trusted to comply with court orders preventing Abrego Garcia from being re-detained or deported.
Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania detention center on Dec. 11, ruling he was being held “again without lawful authority.” She later barred ICE from re-detaining him and ordered the agency to explain whether it planned to do so.
During his detention, the government said it planned to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana and Liberia, court records show, but made no effort to send him to Costa Rica — the one country he has agreed to go to.
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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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