Kilmar Abrego García will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals for an additional 30 days, even after a ruling to grant his pretrial release.
In a high-profile case that has made national headlines, Abrego was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March before being returned to the U.S. following the Trump administration’s defiance of a court order. That action led Abrego's lawyer to push for a court fine against the government for what they argue was “willful noncompliance.” He is currently being held in Nashville, where he was indicted last month on charges related to human trafficking.
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This week, orders related to Abrego’s release came in two separate rulings from two federal judges in Nashville — U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. and U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes. The government’s attempt to keep Abrego in pretrial detention was denied Wednesday, when Crenshaw ordered that Abrego “should be released” and subject to standard bond conditions discussed in a previous hearing.
“The Government fails to show by a preponderance of the evidence — let alone clear and convincing evidence — that Abrego is such a danger to others or the community that he such concerns [sic] cannot be mitigated by conditions of release,” Crenshaw writes in part.
Also on Wednesday, Judge Holmes ruled that Abrego will remain in custody for 30 days.
Federal District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland also ordered Abrego’s release, and according to NBC News, additionally blocked his detention by immigration agents. Another court order will require immigration officials to give at least a 72 hours’ notice if, upon his release, they arrest Abrego and move to deport him to any country that is not his home country of El Salvador.
Kilmar Abrego García's wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura appears at a press conference in Nashville, July 16, 2025
The rulings were issued after a July 16 hearing in Nashville, where a small group of protesters gathered. Prior to the hearing, Abrego’s wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura was escorted by a group of clergy and immigration rights activists, who held a press conference. Unlike during previous press conferences, Sura did not speak.
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“I want him and everyone who is being targeted unfairly in our communities by ICE, by the Nazi ICE, [to know] that things are not what they seem,” Nashville’s Democratic state Sen. Charlane Oliver said during the July 16 press conference. “You have fighters, you have protectors, you have supporters that are willing to lock arms and fight with you.”
The court orders come on the heels of the July 18 press conference from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at an ICE field office in Nashville. Noem said at the time that Abrego “should never be allowed to be free in the United States of America,” calling him a “monster.”
Noem’s comments — delivered just five miles from Nashville’s federal courthouse — drew criticism from Albrego’s lawyers, who in a July 22 motion railed against “extrajudicial statements” made by the DHS secretary. They argue that her comments “are not just highly likely to taint the jury pool; they appear calculated to maximize the prejudice to Mr. Abrego.”
