Abrego Garcia’s Attorneys Throw Last-Minute Hail Mary To Save Him From Deportation

Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s attorneys are requesting he remain locked up in order to prevent the Trump administration from swiftly deporting him from the U.S.

In an emergency motion filed Friday, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys requested a federal magistrate judge in Tennessee delay his release from criminal custody until a July 16 hearing, according to court documents. This maneuver, his attorneys claimed, would prevent the Trump administration from quickly deporting him and provide the government more time to explain its intentions with the suspected human smuggler.

“This is the first time the government has represented, to anyone, that it intended not to deport Mr. Abrego back to El Salvador following a trial on these charges, but to deport him to a third country immediately,” his attorneys stated to U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes Friday.

The attorneys acknowledged the “irony” of their request, noting in their motion that Abrego Garcia had spent the last two weeks contesting his detention in Tennessee and federal prosecutors had previously requested he remain detained before his trial. The Salvadoran man could possibly be released from custody as early as Friday, unless the judge grants a delay.

The request comes after the federal government announced in a separate court case involving Abrego Garcia that it intended to remove him to a third country — a country that is not El Salvador — as soon as he’s released from criminal custody.

Abrego Garcia’s counsel accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of “contradictory statements,” pointing to previous comments the DOJ made to the media that suggested they would allow him to be tried in criminal court before removing him to a third country.

“Because DOJ has made directly contradictory statements on this issue in the last 18 hours, and because we cannot put any faith in any representation made on this issue by the DOJ, we respectfully request to delay the issuance of the release order until the July 16 hearing on the government’s motion for revocation,” the attorneys stated. “A short delay will prevent the government from removing Mr. Abrego and allow time for the government to provide reliable information concerning its intentions.”