Overview

• Abrego Garcia left Putnam County Jail on Friday under an order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes and is traveling under private security to reunite with his family in Maryland.
• His release includes pretrial conditions such as GPS monitoring and reporting to pretrial services in Maryland, after two Tennessee judges found prosecutors failed to show he is a danger or flight risk.
• U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis barred an immediate ICE arrest upon his release, directed a return to ICE’s Baltimore supervision, and required three business days’ notice before any removal action, though deportation remains possible.
• Homeland Security officials have discussed trying to deport him to a third country rather than El Salvador, with prior testimony mentioning Mexico or South Sudan and a new report indicating Uganda may be under consideration.
• He has pleaded not guilty to two human-smuggling counts stemming from a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop, with trial set for January 2026, and his attorneys have moved to dismiss the case as a vindictive or selective prosecution.