Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national facing serious federal charges for human smuggling, has been temporarily released from custody in Tennessee and has released a video statement.
Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador earlier this year as part of efforts to crack down on suspected gang members and criminals, was brought back to the U.S. in June to face charges of human smuggling in Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia rejected a plea deal offered by the Trump administration that would have allowed him to serve his time in the United States and then be deported to Costa Rica, where officials there have reportedly agreed to take him in. Instead, he chose release, reuniting with his family in Maryland after more than 160 days behind bars. He now has to turn himself in on Monday and face possible deportation to Uganda.
BREAKINGKilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from Putnam County Jail and reunited with his family on Friday night. Abrego Garcia saw his family in person for the first time in more than 160 days after he was taken into custody by ICE and sent to CECOT in El Salvador. pic.twitter.com/4Pi15HDYot
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) August 23, 2025
His legal team has filed motions arguing that the threat of being sent to Uganda constitutes coercion by the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and ICE, aimed at pressuring him into pleading guilty.
“There can be only one interpretation of these events. The D.O.J., D.H.S., and ICE are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers wrote.
Liberals in the media were quick to label his initial deportation “wrongful,” claiming he has some protected status that should shield him from being sent back to his home country.
In his first public comments since the release, shared in a video, Garcia expressed gratitude for the support he received from misguided leftists.
Abrego Garcia said:
My name is Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Today is a very special day because, thank God, I’ve returned to my family after more than 160 days. And I’d like to thank all the people who have been supporting me because after so much time, I’m realizing that many people have been on my side with positive things, and I’m grateful to these people, to everyone at home, to the people at Smart Local 100 where I work. Thank you to the pastors, male and female, and to all the churches that have been in prayer with me. Thank you for everything, because today, God has heard us, and thank you, thank you, because I’m out.
Abrego Garcia is expected to be immediately taken into custody on Monday.
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