Overview

• Lawyers filed an amended complaint July 2 in Maryland federal court alleging Garcia endured severe beatings, prolonged sleep deprivation, forced kneeling and psychological torture at CECOT, where he lost 31 pounds.
• U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ruled that Garcia must remain in federal custody in Tennessee until at least mid-July amid uncertainty over his eventual removal.
• Garcia was flown back to the U.S. in early June under court order and has pleaded not guilty to two federal human smuggling charges in Tennessee.
• His ongoing civil suit contends the Trump administration defied a 2019 order barring his deportation and cited an “administrative error” to send him to El Salvador.
• The case underscores clashes between executive deportation authority and judicial oversight, raising questions about due process and treatment of detainees under the Alien Enemies Act.