GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge on Thursday will consider Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s request to be sent to Maryland to await trial on human smuggling charges, a bid aimed at preventing the Trump administration from trying to deport him again.
Abrego Garcia could be released as soon as next week from a jail in Tennessee. He is being held in connection with 2022 traffic stop for speeding in the state during which he was driving a vehicle with nine passengers without luggage. A U.S. Justice Department attorney has said immigration officials would detain Abrego Garcia and initiate deportation proceedings, possibly denying him the chance to defend himself at trial.
Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration policies when the Salvadoran national was wrongfully deported to his native country in March. Facing mounting pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court order, the administration returned him last month to