The Trump administration is preparing to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia before he stands trial in Tennessee — if he’s released from criminal custody, which could happen as early as next week, a Justice Department attorney said Monday.
The statement came during a tense court hearing in Maryland, where U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis pressed government attorneys for clarity on the administration’s intentions toward Abrego Garcia, a man whose case has become a high-profile legal and political flashpoint. He was wrongly deported to El Salvador in March in violation of a 2019 court order, but later returned to face human smuggling charges.
“You would not wait for the criminal case?” Judge Xinis asked DOJ attorney Jonathan Guynn, noting that the Department of Homeland Security is deporting people very quickly. “Are you going to take the same speed with Mr. Abrego?”
Guynn replied, “There’s no intention to just put him in limbo in ICE custody while we wait for the criminal case to unfold. He will be removed, as would any other illegal alien in that process.”
His remarks marked a stark shift from weeks of statements by top Trump officials who insisted Abrego Garcia would face trial in the U.S. Now, it appears the administration may try to deport him before any trial begins, confirming fears raised by his defense team, who have long suspected the government would try to sidestep legal proceedings.
Abrego Garcia remains in pretrial detention in Tennessee, but he could be transferred to DHS custody as early as July 16.
At one point during the hearing, Judge Xinis expressed frustration over the administration’s vague and shifting explanations.
“It’s like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall trying to figure out what’s going to happen next week,” she said.
Xinis is overseeing a separate civil case brought by Abrego Garcia and his family, who are suing the government over his unlawful deportation to El Salvador in March — an act that directly violated a court order from 2019 barring his removal to that country.
On Monday, attorneys for the administration said that if Abrego Garcia is released, they may either seek to overturn that prior court order or remove him to a third country — though they declined to specify which country that might be.
Another Hearing Set for Thursday
Due to the administration’s evasive responses, Judge Xinis scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Thursday to obtain more definitive answers under oath from a Trump administration official.
She ordered that the official must have direct knowledge of what will happen if Abrego Garcia is released from criminal custody.
If that official’s testimony “is substantive and persuasive” and shows the government intends to honor Abrego Garcia’s due process rights, Xinis said she may decline to issue a court order preventing his deportation.
Until then, the future of Kilmar Abrego Garcia — and whether he will stand trial in the United States or be removed again — remains uncertain.
