If not for the serious nature of the crimes of which he stands accused, one might almost be tempted to feel a bit sorry for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national whose deportation case has made him a cause célèbre. (Almost.) He might be feeling a bit like a Ping-Pong ball these days. And just when you think his saga can’t get any more dramatic, it takes another whiplash-inducing turn.
Tennessee Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, who, a week ago, denied the government’s motion for pretrial detention of Abrego while he awaits trial on two felony counts (Conspiracy to Transport Aliens and Unlawful Transportation of Undocumented Aliens), has now entered an order granting Abrego’s emergency motion to delay issuing a release order.
That’s right: The same judge who ruled that Abrego should be released pending his criminal trial is now agreeing to hold him — at his own behest.
READ MORE: Judge in Criminal Case Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia Makes Stunning Decision Regarding His Detention
Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Stateside Honeymoon Just About Over?
So, how did we wind up here? Let’s see if I can nutshell this:
- In or around 2016, Abrego entered the U.S. illegally.
- In 2019, he was issued a removal order, but he then received a “withholding of removal,” which stipulated that, while he could be deported, he could not be sent back to his home country of El Salvador.
- In March 2025, due to an administrative oversight, Abrego was removed and sent back to El Salvador, where he was housed, for a time, at CECOT (a maximum security prison) before being transferred to a lower security facility while he became a political football stateside.
- While the legal tussle over his habeas/deportation case raged on in Maryland District Court, then up through the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and on to the Supreme Court, there was another issue afoot: It seems that St. Kilmar of El Salvador allegedly was part of a human smuggling enterprise from 2016 until the time of his ICE detention and repatriation to El Salvador — in May 2025, a grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned an indictment on the two aforementioned felony counts.
- The government moved for pretrial detention of Abrego in that matter, but, as noted above, Judge Holmes denied that motion.
- However, when the government intimated in the (still pending) Maryland proceedings that, should Abrego be released from U.S. Marshals’ custody in Tennessee, he would likely be picked up by ICE and face removal to a third country.
- That sent his criminal defense attorneys scrambling back to the court in Tennessee with an emergency motion asking the court to delay ordering his release in order to forestall his being removed from the country to someplace like South Sudan.
So, now Judge Holmes has granted that emergency motion. In her four-page order, Holmes reasons:
The Court has considered the basis for the motion, which is the perceived conflicting positions taken by the government regarding whether it will deport Abrego pending final disposition of this case including the further review by the District Judge of the government’s request for pretrial detention. Essentially, Abrego seeks the due process to which he is constitutionally and statutorily entitled, namely whether the government can make the necessary showing under the Bail Reform Act for his detention pending trial. The District Judge recognized the import of this determination in his June 25, 2025 Memorandum Opinion:
While the Court agrees with the premise that Abrego will likely be detained by DHS, it departs from the Government’s position that the Executive Branch’s pursuit of Abrego on multiple fronts somehow renders these proceedings academic. This forgoes the basic tenets of due process and judiciary diligence underlying Article III.
(Docket No. 55 at 15.) The Court has also considered that the government, while not conceding to the stated basis for the motion, is not opposed to the limited relief requested by Abrego. (Docket No. 66.) Because the government agrees to the short delay in issuance of a release order, as requested by Abrego, the Court will postpone issuance of the release order and conditions of release to allow for the scheduled hearing on July 16, 2025 and decision by the District Judge on the government’s Motion for Revocation.
So, basically, the government said, “Oh, you’d rather stay in U.S. Marshals’ custody in Tennessee for now rather than DHS custody? Okay then,” and the court granted Abrego this reprieve of sorts. He’ll stay put in Tennessee until at least the July 16th hearing now. And, per the court’s order, “He shall, to the extent practicable, be held separately from persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody pending appeal and he shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity for private consultation with defense counsel.”
No word yet on whether Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) intends to visit his “constituent” for another cocktail while he awaits further proceedings.
Editor’s Note: Every single day, here at RedState, we will stand up and FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT against the radical left and deliver the conservative reporting our readers deserve.
Help us continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration and its major wins. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
