A judge orders the release of Kilmar Abrego García.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ElPaisUS)
— A Tennessee judge on Sunday ordered the release of Salvadoran Kilmar Ábrego García , who returned to the United States after being deported to El Salvador by “mistake” by President Donald Trump's administration, but faces trial for alleged human trafficking.
Judge Barbara Holmes denied the government's motion to detain Ábrego García and held that the court "will provide Abrego with the due process he is guaranteed," ABC News reported. A hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday to review the conditions of his release.
The US government returned Ábrego García to the United States on June 6, after he was expelled along with 230 other immigrants to El Salvador, despite having a status that protected him from deportation. The Supreme Court and a Maryland judge concluded that his expulsion was unlawful. However, upon his return to the United States, the Salvadoran national was charged with alleged human trafficking. These charges date back to an encounter the defendant had with police in Tennessee in 2022, when he was traveling with several suspected undocumented immigrants.
Ábrego García pleaded not guilty at the initial hearing on those charges, which took place on June 13 in Nashville, Tennessee. During the hearing, hundreds of people protested outside the courthouse, demanding the defendant's release and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In Nashville, volunteers find ways to counter ICE operations
By Alex Pena and Emily Cochrane
May 27, 2025
The New York Times in Spanish
- In early May, word spread quickly through Nashville: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were seen alongside State Highway Patrol officers on the South Side, where much of the city's Latino population lives.
Outrage over the nearly 200 immigration-related arrests was fierce in Nashville, a liberal enclave in a state that largely leans Republican. But even as the city's Democratic mayor, Freddie O'Connell, condemned the operation, calling it a "profound harm to the community," it reflected how most Tennessee leaders have embraced President Donald Trump's hardline approach to immigration.
Faced with limited official resources, several Nashville residents and migrant advocacy groups are now acting as unofficial chroniclers of immigration activity. Among them is The ReMIX Tennessee, which has created a hotline for community members to call and report any signs of immigration enforcement.
On social media, they also spread warnings about locations where Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE agents have been seen together. State police are allowed to conduct routine traffic stops. Immigration agents cannot legally do so without probable cause or a warrant, but together, this means traffic stops can lead to immigration detentions.