WASHINGTON (BN24) — The Trump administration declared Monday that Kilmar Ábrego García “will never go free” in the United States, despite a federal judge’s decision to release the Salvadoran national from criminal custody while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges.
Ábrego García, who entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager and was granted deportation protections in 2019, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March amid a sweeping immigration crackdown under the Alien Enemies Act, a centuries-old wartime law revived by the Trump administration. He was detained at the notorious Cecot mega-prison before eventually being returned to the U.S. earlier this month.
On Sunday, Judge Barbara Holmes ruled that federal prosecutors failed to demonstrate that Ábrego García posed a risk to minors, might flee, or would obstruct justice. She ordered his release from pretrial detention in Tennessee, where he faces federal charges related to a yearslong human trafficking conspiracy.
However, U.S. immigration authorities are expected to re-detain him immediately for removal proceedings.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a dangerous criminal illegal alien,” said Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, in a social media post. “We have said it for months and it remains true to this day: he will never go free on American soil.”
Ábrego García, now in his 30s, faces a federal indictment accusing him of coordinating the movement of undocumented migrants from Texas to Maryland and other U.S. states more than 100 times between 2016 and 2020.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Federal prosecutors have also alleged that he is affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim his attorneys and Ábrego García himself have vehemently denied.
His initial deportation in March triggered outrage among immigration advocates and legal scholars after government attorneys acknowledged that he was removed due to an “administrative error.” Despite that admission, the Trump administration initially refused to facilitate his return to the U.S.
Only after a U.S. Supreme Court order mandated that the government “facilitate” his return did Ábrego García re-enter the country to face criminal prosecution.
Judge Holmes emphasized in her decision that Ábrego García’s release from criminal custody does not shield him from immigration detention, noting that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) retains full authority to detain him and pursue deportation.
In 2019, an immigration judge granted him relief from deportation, ruling that he would likely face gang persecution in El Salvador. But with the Trump administration’s crackdown intensifying, legal experts say that earlier protections for asylum seekers and individuals with prior relief orders have eroded sharply.
Ábrego García’s current legal team is now battling on two fronts: defending him against human smuggling charges and seeking to halt any immediate deportation efforts by ICE.
Ábrego García’s case has drawn fresh attention to the Trump administration’s revival of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which has been used in recent months to fast-track deportations of non-citizens from countries the administration deems adversarial.
His arrest and deportation have become a symbol of the expanding powers of U.S. immigration enforcement, particularly under policies that seek to sideline judicial discretion and prioritize mass removals.
Legal advocates say that Ábrego García’s ordeal illustrates the potential for overreach, even as administration officials maintain that strict enforcement is essential to national security.
“The court recognized that Kilmar doesn’t meet the standard for pretrial detention,” said Emilia Rivera, one of his attorneys. “But unfortunately, we still face the possibility that he will be detained again—this time by ICE.”
As of Monday, immigration authorities have not confirmed the timeline for Ábrego García’s expected transfer to an ICE detention facility, but DHS sources have indicated that removal efforts are being actively pursued.
