Embattled Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked a Tennessee court to let him return to his home state of Maryland as a free man, while also accusing the US Justice Department of vindictive prosecution.
His requests come nearly a month after a Nashville judge ruled that he need not remain in custody while he fights federal human smuggling charges, and a Maryland judge granted his request to block federal agents from arresting him once he’s freed in the criminal case.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said in a filing Tuesday they’re working with a private security firm to transport him to Maryland so that he is supervised while traveling from Tennessee. In the event he is detained by immigration authorities upon his return to Maryland, he should have physical and phone access to his attorneys so he can prepare for his trial, according to the filing.
Abrego Garcia became a face of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants after the Maryland man was deported to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador despite a court order barring his removal to that country.
The US Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate his return, which the White House initially balked at. He was eventually brought back to the US, but only to face charges that he illegally transported undocumented immigrants within the country.
In a separate filing Tuesday, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers asked the Nashville judge overseeing the criminal case, Waverly Crenshaw, to dismiss it on the grounds that the Trump administration has retaliated against him. On July 23, Crenshaw rejected the government’s arguments for keeping Abrego Garcia locked up, including the claim that he’s an MS-13 gang member.
“This case results from the government’s concerted effort to punish him for having the audacity to fight back, rather than accept a brutal injustice,” the attorneys wrote.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said: “As we have said since Day 1, this M13-gang member and human trafficker won’t be on American streets again.”
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