Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from prison by order of magistrate judge

Washington DC - A Salvadoran migrant who was wronglydeported and then returned to the US was released from prison Friday after being detained on human smuggling charges, according to his lawyer.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura (2nd R), the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is joined by supporters, advocates from CASA de Maryland, fellow union members, and others as they rally in front of the US District Court for Maryland ahead of a hearing on his case on July 7, 2025 in Greenbelt, Maryland. © Chip Somodevilla / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was brought back to the US from El Salvador in June after being summarily deported three months earlier alongside more than 200 other people as part of US President Donald Trump's crackdown on migrants.

He was charged upon his return with trafficking undocumented migrants, but was released Friday from a prison in Tennessee at the order of a US magistrate judge.

"Today, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free," his attorney Sean Hecker said in a statement.

"He is presently en route to his family in Maryland after being unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government's vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the administration's continuing assault on the rule of law," the statement continued.

"...who had the courage to fight back against the Administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law. He is grateful that his access to American courts has provided meaningful due process."

— Rafael Sánchez-Cruz (@rafasanchezcruz) August 22, 2025

Prior to his deportation, Abrego Garcia had been living in the US under protected legal status since 2019, when a judge ruled he should not be deported because he could be harmed in his home country.

"He is grateful that his access to American courts has provided meaningful due process," his lawyer said.