A judge just DENIED the government's motion to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

NEW: A judge just DENIED the government's motion to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

A hearing to review the conditions of Abrego Garcia's release is to come.

— Tyler McBrien (@tylermcbrien.com) 2025-06-22T22:24:58.573Z

Link to tweet

[SheltieLover]

1. Yes!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. A federal magistrate judge DENIES the government's motion to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody

NEWS: A federal magistrate judge DENIES the government’s motion to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody while his criminal charges are pending.

“A separate order will enter, following hearing, directing Abrego's release on conditions.”

— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) 2025-06-22T22:28:27.573Z

Read the full order here

Link to tweet

Full order available here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

— Anna Bower (@annabower.bsky.social) 2025-06-22T22:28:58.528Z

[sheshe2]

3. Thank you!

[electric_blue68]

4. Good luck for your release, Mr Garcia!

[SunSeeker]

5. Good. nt

[iluvtennis]

6. Woohoo!

[ancianita]

7. Will this ruling be immediately appealed to SCOTUS? Not a lawyer, so here's why I ask:

FURTHER, the United States is advised of its right to seek review of this Order pursuant to 18 U.S.C. - 3145.

Or will her ruling be reviewed by the active district judges of the court who appointed her as magistrate? I'm just wondering how long bondi can delay compliance in this case on behalf of Noem, and if SCOTUS is the ultimate decider on this and other Homeland cases.

[Littlered]

8. I imagine this is only

Pauses the inevitable. I wouldn’t count this as a victory. In the end, this will be a lesson in unintended consequences. I wish I were wrong, but I’m not.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

9. Seems to me this is "out of the frying pan into the fire" unless I'm reading this wrong.

It appears this only pertains to the DOJ holding him but ICE can still hold him.

Perhaps the sole circumstance about which the government and Abrego may agree in this
case is the likelihood that Abrego will remain in custody regardless of the outcome of the issues
raised in the government’s motion for detention. Either Abrego will remain in the custody of the
Attorney General or her designee pending trial if detained under the Bail Reform Act or he will
likely remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) custody subject to
anticipated removal proceedings that are outside the jurisdiction of this Court.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. Wow, the Federal Courts are calling BS on the Trump DOJ's accusations and attempts to hold Abrego Garcia.

The indictment of Garcia does not pass this judge's smell test

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Deadline: Legal Blog-Judge stresses due process while rejecting bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending trial

The judge noted that her ruling could be seen as an "academic exercise" if Abrego Garcia just winds up held in immigration custody, anyway.

1/4

MSNBC - Deadline: Legal Blog - Judge stresses due process while rejecting bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending trial

The judge noted that her ruling could be seen as an "academic exercise" if Abrego Garcia just winds up held in immigration custody, anyway.

— Lola Gayle (@lolagaylec.bsky.social) 2025-06-23T12:15:40.055Z

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/kilmar-abrego-garcia-judge-orders-release-detention-trump-rcna212833

A federal judge on Sunday rejected the Justice Department's bid to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia pending his federal criminal trial in Tennessee, citing the importance of due process while noting that he could still separately be held by immigration authorities.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes began her 51-page ruling by observing that the only thing the government and Abrego Garcia might agree on is the likelihood that he will stay in custody regardless of her detention ruling, given the government's intention to separately detain him in U.S. immigration custody. While that could make her ruling an “academic exercise,” Holmes stressed that she needed to give the defendant “the due process that he is guaranteed.”

A judge saying that she is going to enforce the Constitution might have been an obvious statement hardly worth writing before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. But today it calls to mind the administration’s failure to provide that baseline guarantee in multiple cases, perhaps none more infamous than Abrego Garcia’s.

So, regardless of the outcome of this criminal case and any subsequent deportation efforts by the government, it’s remarkable that merely mentioning the necessity of due process stands as a rebuke against the administration that fought to avoid providing it in this case and is still fighting to avoid providing it in others.....

In her ruling on Sunday, Holmes said the government failed to make its case that Abrego Garcia is enough of a flight risk or danger to the community to warrant holding him ahead of trial. She said that she would set a hearing for Wednesday to review the conditions of his release.

But the DOJ quickly filed a motion to a U.S. District Court judge in Tennessee on Sunday, arguing that Holmes’ impending release order should be halted. The motion notes that Abrego Garcia “has an immigration detainer lodged against him by the Department of Homeland Security,” adding that “he will remain in custody pending deportation and Judge Holmes’ release order would not immediately release him to the community under any circumstance.”

The success of that government motion and any further appeal on the detention issue in the coming days could derail Abrego Garcia’s release in the criminal case, regardless of any separate immigration detention.