GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — The U.S. government would initiate deportation proceedings against Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he’s released from jail before he stands trial on human smuggling charges in Tennessee, a Justice Department attorney told a federal judge in Maryland on Monday.
The disclosure by U.S. lawyer Jonathan Guynn contradicts statements by spokespeople for the Justice Department and the White House, who said last month that Abrego Garcia would stand trial and possibly spend time in an American prison before the government moves to deport him.
Guynn made the revelation during a federal court hearing in Maryland, where Abrego Garcia’s American wife is suing the Trump administration over his mistaken deportation in March and trying to prevent him from being expelled again.
Guynn said U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement would detain Abrego Garcia once he’s released from jail and send him to a “third country” that isn’t his native El Salvador. However, Guynn said he didn’t know which country that would be.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said trying to determine what will happen to Abrego Garcia has been “like trying to nail Jello to a wall.” She scheduled a hearing for Thursday for U.S. officials to explain possible next steps if Abrego Garcia is released.
Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies when he was deported in March to a notorious megaprison in his native El Salvador. The Trump administration claimed he was in the MS-13 gang, although Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime and has repeatedly denied the allegation.
When the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia, it violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that shielded him from being sent to his native country. The judge had determined that Abrego Garcia likely faced persecution by local gangs that had terrorized him and his family and prompted him to flee to the U.S.
Facing increasing pressure and a Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. last month to face federal human smuggling charges. The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding in Tennessee, during which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers without luggage.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers told a judge that some government witnesses cooperated to get favors regarding their immigration status or criminal charges they were facing.
They’ve also accused the Trump administration of bringing Abrego Garcia back “to convict him in the court of public opinion” with the intention of deporting him before he can defend himself at trial.
A federal judge in Nashville was preparing to release Abrego Garcia, determining he’s not a flight risk or a danger. But she agreed to keep Abrego Garcia behind bars at the request of his own attorneys, who raised concerns the U.S. would try to immediately deport him.
In court documents, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers cited “contradictory statements” by the Trump administration. For example, Guynn told Xinis on June 26 that ICE planned to deport Abrego Garcia, though he didn’t say when.
Later that day, DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told The Associated Press that the Justice Department intends to try Abrego Garcia on the smuggling charges before it moves to deport him.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson posted on X that day that Abrego Garcia “will face the full force of the American justice system — including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed.”
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys asked Xinis to order the government to take him to Maryland upon his release from jail, an arrangement that would prevent his deportation before trial. Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland for more than a decade, working construction and raising a family.
Xinis is still considering that request. Guynn told the judge on Monday that she doesn’t have the jurisdiction to decide where Abrego Garcia would be detained. Xinis responded by asking why she couldn’t order an “interim step” to ensure that Abrego Garcia isn’t “spirited away again.”
Anrew Rossman, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, said he should be given notice and an opportunity to challenge his removal in court.
“That’s the baseline of what we’re asking for,” he added.
Meanwhile, Xinis denied the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit over Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation.
The government had argued the litigation was moot because it returned him to the U.S. Xinis said “the controversy” isn’t over simply because he’s back.
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This has been corrected to show that Jonathan Guynn is a civil division attorney with the Department of Justice, not a prosecutor.
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Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.
