Judge Orders Release of Illegal MS-13 Human Trafficker Kilmar ‘Maryland Dad’ Abrego Garcia [WATCH]

A federal judge has ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant and alleged member of the MS-13 gang, who is facing charges of human trafficking and alien smuggling in the Middle District of Tennessee.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes issued the order on Sunday, ruling that Abrego Garcia should be released from federal custody pending trial.

BREAKING: A Federal Magistrate judge just DENIED a motion to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody for human trafficking charges, pending trial. pic.twitter.com/vR7sLDAeHa

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 22, 2025

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He is scheduled to appear at a hearing on Wednesday to determine the conditions of his release.

The decision is being appealed by the Trump administration.

Abrego Garcia, who was deported earlier this year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the direction of President Donald Trump, had originally been slated for removal in 2019.

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He was later extradited back to the United States to face federal criminal charges related to an alleged human smuggling operation that spanned multiple years and states.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in June that a federal grand jury returned a sealed indictment on May 21 charging Abrego Garcia with alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling in violation of Title 8, U.S. Code Section 1324.

The alleged conduct occurred while Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang between 2015 and 2016.

“On May 21, a grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned a sealed indictment charging Abrego Garcia with alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling in violation of Title 8, USC, 1324,” Bondi said in her statement.

According to prosecutors, Abrego Garcia was a full-time operator in a human smuggling network, not acting as a contractor.

🚨 #BREAKING: A magistrate has just ruled AGAINST the DOJ’s request to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody on his criminal charges

This activist judge wants to put a HUMAN TRAFFlCKING WIFE BEATER back on the streets before trial.

NO! HES ILLEGAL! TAKE HIM INTO ICE CUSTODY! pic.twitter.com/X3iYfZ1YNS

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 22, 2025

Bondi said the grand jury found that he made over 100 smuggling trips across the United States and earned more than $100,000 annually through these activities.

“The grand jury found that over the past 9 years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring. They found this was his full-time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over 100 trips the grand jury found smuggling people throughout our country,” Bondi said.

🚨 #BREAKING: Pam Bondi officially announces Kilmar Abrego Garcia will be returned to the US after the DOJ uncovered he made OVER 100 SMUGGLING TRIPS of illegals

A grand jury found human trafficking was Garcia’s FULL TIME JOB, and he frequently ABUSED women.

THIS IS THE… pic.twitter.com/MHbmJ4PpnX

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 6, 2025

At a detention hearing on July 13, ICE informed the court that if Abrego Garcia were released on bail, he would be detained and deported immediately.

Despite this, Judge Holmes ruled that the Department of Justice had not sufficiently demonstrated that he posed a danger to the community or was a flight risk.

“Overall, the Court cannot find from the evidence presented that Abrego’s release clearly and convincingly poses an irremediable danger to other persons or to the community,” Holmes said.

Judge Holmes also noted that her decision was “little more than an academic exercise” given ICE’s stated intent to take Abrego Garcia into custody upon release.

Still, she emphasized that defendants are entitled to “a full and fair determination of whether he must remain in federal custody pending trial.”

Abrego Garcia has previously been the subject of domestic abuse allegations reported by his wife, who went to police on two separate occasions.

Despite this, he has drawn support from Democratic advocates who have referred to him as a “Maryland dad” while calling for his release and opposing his deportation.

Media Bias Exposed: The Maryland Dad Myth vs. Rachel Morin’s Murder pic.twitter.com/2RzuvnbqR6

— Gutfeld! (@Gutfeldfox) April 25, 2025

He was previously deported to El Salvador, where he was placed in President Nayib Bukele’s maximum-security CECOT prison facility.

In 2019, a federal immigration court initially blocked his removal, citing concerns over gang violence in El Salvador.

Since that time, El Salvador has undergone significant change under President Bukele, who has implemented aggressive anti-gang measures that have been credited with improving public safety in the country.

Abrego Garcia’s legal status, criminal charges, and the response from immigration authorities continue to draw national attention as debate intensifies over border enforcement and federal detention policies.

The Trump administration’s appeal of Holmes’ ruling is expected to be heard in the coming days.

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