Overview

• In a motion filed Thursday in federal court in Tennessee, Abrego Garcia asked to bar DOJ and DHS officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, from making prejudicial public statements.
• The request follows DHS posts labeling him an MS-13 member and Bondi’s remark that he “needs to be in prison,” as a DHS official later described him to reporters as a “child predator.”
• U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled this week that the administration is forbidden from removing him while a hearing determines whether he can contest a proposed transfer to a third country.
• After surrendering to ICE in Baltimore, Abrego Garcia filed a new asylum claim intended to block third‑country removal, with his attorneys warning of persecution risks tied to El Salvador.
• He was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March, returned to the United States in June after court intervention, and is now under indictment in Tennessee on human‑smuggling charges that his lawyers call vindictive.