Abrego Garcia’s team asks judge to delay release to prevent swift removal
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have filed a request for a 30-day delay in his release from criminal custody, citing concerns he’d be transferred to immigration authorities and potentially deported right away.
Indicted in May on human-smuggling charges, Abrego Garcia is due for trial in January. His lawyers say that if a judge lifts his detention, the Department of Homeland Security would scoop him up and start deportation proceedings. The Justice Department did not oppose the request, and the delay wouldn’t derail the criminal case schedule.
His legal team highlights his past wrongful deportation to El Salvador in March, despite a 2019 court order barring it due to fears of gang violence. A Maryland federal judge and the Supreme Court later ruled he should be returner to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia first came to U.S. in 2011 and pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges. He remains in U.S. Marshals custody while another judge in Maryland considers a separate motion to bar future deportation.
