Abrego Garcia to remain in US for high-stakes ‘vindictive’ prosecution hearing
In a significant development in the ongoing legal battle involving Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a U.S. District Judge has granted him a reprieve from deportation, allowing him to remain in the United States through at least the last week of November. This decision comes amid a complex interplay of criminal and civil cases that highlight the contentious nature of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Abrego Garcia’s situation has become a focal point in the legal landscape, with two federal judges in Tennessee and Maryland considering the implications of his case. Specifically, they are examining whether the Justice Department’s prosecution of Abrego Garcia was driven by “selective” and “vindictive” motives, particularly in light of his claims that the criminal charges against him are retaliatory.
The ongoing legal proceedings have revealed a tangled web of government actions and decisions surrounding Abrego Garcia’s case. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland has set a timeline for an evidentiary hearing in Nashville, where Abrego Garcia’s legal team is seeking to subpoena high-ranking Justice Department officials for testimony regarding the motivations behind his prosecution. This includes a request for documents related to the investigation stemming from a 2022 traffic stop, which led to the charges of immigrant smuggling against him. The Justice Department had previously indicated plans to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia, despite concerns over his safety and the legal implications of such a move, particularly given a 2019 court order prohibiting his return to El Salvador.
As the case unfolds, it has drawn criticism from federal judges who have expressed frustration with the Justice Department’s handling of the situation. Judge Waverly Crenshaw has reprimanded the Department for making public statements that violate court rules, further complicating the legal proceedings. With the evidentiary hearing set to begin shortly, the outcome could have significant implications not only for Abrego Garcia but also for the broader context of immigration enforcement and the legal standards governing such cases. The upcoming deadlines for briefings and the court’s scrutiny of the government’s actions underscore the ongoing tension between the judicial system and the executive branch’s immigration policies during the Trump administration.
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Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain in the U.S. through at least the last week of November, according to a new court filing submitted Tuesday morning, as his months-long legal fight with the
Trump administration
continues to play out in multiple federal courts.
The update comes as Abrego Garcia’s dueling criminal and civil cases have emerged as a major flashpoint in the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown. Two separate federal judges in Tennessee and Maryland are currently weighing Abrego’s current legal status, and whether the Justice Department acted with “selective” and “vindictive” prosecution in bringing a criminal case against him earlier this year.
The new schedule ordered by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis allows Abrego Garcia to participate in a two-day evidentiary hearing ordered by another federal judge in Nashville to consider his assertion that his criminal case was motivated in part by the government’s
desire for retaliation
.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw is currently weighing a request from Abrego Garcia’s lawyers to subpoena the second-highest-ranking Justice Department official, Todd Blanche, for testimony in that hearing. He also ordered the Justice Department to produce various government documents and communications stemming from Abrego’s case, including on its decision to open an investigation into the 2022 traffic stop earlier this year.
FEDERAL JUDGE LOSES PATIENCE WITH TRUMP DOJ AS ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION STALLS AGAIN
The proposed schedule was submitted jointly Tuesday morning to Xinis, the federal judge in Maryland who issued an order in August keeping Abrego Garcia in the U.S. for now. She later memorialized the proposed dates in a minute order, including ordering both parties to appear back in her court on Nov. 21 for a motions hearing.
Senior Trump administration officials told her Monday that they planned to deport Abrego Garcia to the third country of Liberia as early as Friday, Oct. 31, regardless of the status of his ongoing criminal case in Tennessee. “If there were no prohibition, we would remove him on Friday,” Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign told her. It is unclear what assurances, if any, the Liberian government has provided regarding Abrego Garcia’s status in that country or whether it has agreed not to return him to his home country of El Salvador, in keeping with a 2019 court order.
Justice Department officials reiterated on Monday they have no plans to allow Abrego Garcia to remain in the U.S. to face criminal charges in Tennessee, where he was indicted by a federal grand jury in May on two charges related to immigrant-smuggling. Both charges stemmed from a 2022 traffic stop.
Federal prosecutors acknowledged to Judge Xinis earlier this year that the Justice Department began investigating Abrego Garcia on April 28, 2025 — at the
same time Trump officials
were telling her they had “no power to produce” Abrego Garcia in the US, in compliance with a court order she issued in March.
FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY BARS ABREGO GARCIA FROM DEPORTATION TO UGANDA
But the new proposed briefing schedule submitted by the Justice Department Tuesday suggests their own time frame for Abrego Garcia’s removal has changed yet again.
The Justice Department declined to comment on what, if anything, prompted it to update their proposed schedule and allow him to remain in the U.S. for the evidentiary hearing.
Instead, the proposed schedule suggests brief deadlines for Nov. 7 and Nov. 14, and asks that Judge Xinis review them by the third week of November, at the earliest.
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS RETURN OF DEPORTED MIGRANT TO US, REJECTING TRUMP REQUEST
Separately on Monday, Judge Crenshaw scolded DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi for failing to limit their comments on Abrego Garcia’s ongoing criminal case in Tennessee, in violation of a local court rule, and ordered prosecutors to
notify all employees
at the Justice Department and DHS about the rule to prevent any future public remarks.
“Government employees have made extrajudicial statements that are troubling, especially where many of them are exaggerated if not simply inaccurate,” Judge Crenshaw said on Monday.
In another notable update, Crenshaw ordered the Justice Department to provide the court with communications regarding the government’s decision to prosecute the criminal case against Abrego Garcia, and what “factual circumstances” motivated the change in the government’s position.
Crenshaw said Monday that he will review these documents privately before next week’s evidentiary hearing kicks off in Nashville, and will later rule on what information the Justice Department must turn over to Abrego Garcia’s lawyers before then.
Eric
Eric is a seasoned journalist covering US Politics news.
