Overview

• On July 21, DOJ and Abrego Garcia’s attorneys agreed to keep him in federal criminal custody for 30 days, delaying ICE’s efforts to transfer him to immigration detention.
• He remains detained in Tennessee facing a two-count human smuggling indictment with a trial scheduled for January 27, 2026.
• Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ruled there is no legal basis for pretrial detention; District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. is reviewing her release order.
• A pending civil lawsuit in Maryland asks Judge Paula Xinis to bar any further removal and secure his return to Maryland under court supervision.
• ICE enforcement officials have testified they plan to deport him to a third country once released, underscoring a clash between the administration’s removal agenda and judicial due process.