A federal judge in Tennessee on Friday granted an unusual request by attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal migrant facing human smuggling charges, to keep him in jail. The maneuver is designed to prevent his immediate deportation from the U.

On June 22, Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes of Nashville ordered Garcia to be released on bail, saying she did not believe he was a flight risk or a threat to the wider community. This decision was appealed by the federal government, but U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw of Tennessee backed Holmes's ruling and said Garcia could be released.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador and then returned to the US on criminal charges, asked a judge to delay his release from jail for fear of being deported again before trial.