Kilmar Abrego García, the Salvadoran immigrant whose case sparked significant debate in the United States, was released this Friday from the Putnam County jail in Tennessee, following a court order that allows him to await his trial on human trafficking charges while on probation.
The man, who lived in Maryland with his wife and children, had been wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March of this year, despite having a court order that protected him from such action due to the risk of violence in his home country.
After weeks of pressure and a court order, the U.S. government repatriated him in June, although he was immediately incarcerated due to a criminal case dating back to 2022.
On Friday, Abrego García was released from prison wearing a white shirt and black pants, accompanied by his lawyer Rascoe Dean. Both avoided speaking to the press and got into a truck heading to Maryland, where he will remain under house arrest, electronic monitoring, and with his brother as a custodian. He will only be allowed to leave for work, to attend religious services, or to engage in previously authorized activities.
His defense argues that the smuggling charges are a "vengeful attack" for publicly questioning his deportation. “The release brings relief, but not security. ICE can still try to detain him or deport him to a third country,” stated Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, his attorney in Maryland, to the agency AP.
The case has sparked a political clash. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, harshly criticized the judicial decision and claimed that “activist liberal judges” are obstructing efforts to deport “illegal foreign criminals.”
For their part, Abrego García's lawyers requested this week the dismissal of the criminal proceedings, arguing that the prosecution is acting with retaliatory motives. The images from the 2022 arrest show that after being stopped for speeding, the police allowed him to continue despite carrying nine passengers.
Abrego García has lived in the United States for several years, and in 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection against deportation to El Salvador, considering that he faced a "well-founded fear" of suffering violence if returned to that country.
This measure prevented him from being expelled specifically to Salvadoran territory, although it did not guarantee him a permanent legal status nor did it prevent the U.S. government from attempting to send him to a third country willing to accept him.
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