Overview

• Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ordered Kilmar Ábrego García released from federal custody in Tennessee, allowing him to travel to Maryland to live with family under court conditions.
• ICE notified his lawyers it intends to remove him to Uganda after he rejected a plea offer that included deportation to Costa Rica, with prior court orders requiring 72 hours’ notice before any removal effort.
• Ábrego García has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to transport undocumented people, charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, with trial scheduled for January 2026.
• Defense attorneys moved to dismiss the criminal case, alleging retaliatory prosecution following his court‑ordered return to the United States.
• He was erroneously deported to El Salvador in March despite a 2019 order barring removal there and was held at the CECOT prison; DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has publicly condemned his release.