Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked a federal judge in Tennessee on Friday to delay his release from jail because of "contradictory statements" by President Donald Trump's administration over whether or not he'll be deported upon release.
A federal judge in Nashville has been preparing to release Abrego Garcia to await trial on human smuggling charges. But she's been holding off over concerns that U.S. immigration officials would swiftly detain him and try to deport him again.
Abrego Garcia's attorneys are now asking the judge to continue to detain him following statements by Trump administration officials "because we cannot put any faith in any representation made on this issue by" the Justice Department.
"The irony of this request is not lost on anyone," the attorneys wrote.
Abrego Garcia, a construction worker who had been living in Maryland, became a flashpoint over Trump's hard-line immigration policies when he was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador in March. Facing mounting pressure and a Supreme Court order, Trump's Republican administration returned him this month to face the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have called "preposterous."