A Tennessee judge has ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia--a suspected MS-13 member accused of smuggling migrants, narcotics, and ammunition into the U.S.
Key Details:
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ruled Sunday that the government failed to prove Kilmar Abrego Garcia should remain in federal custody before trial.
Garcia, a Salvadoran national, is accused of making over 100 border-crossing trips as part of a years-long smuggling operation. He was deported in March, only to be returned to the U.S. in June to face criminal charges.
Despite acknowledging ICE would likely detain Garcia regardless, Holmes wrote that "the strength of the factors weighing in favor of release outweighs all other factors in favor of detention."
Diving Deeper:
A federal magistrate in Tennessee has ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal migrant accused of operating a wide-ranging human smuggling ring and suspected of gang affiliations. The decision--handed down Sunday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes--denied federal prosecutors' request to keep Garcia in detention ahead of his trial.
According to court records, Garcia allegedly ran a years-long smuggling operation involving over 100 border-crossing trips. Prosecutors say he helped transport not just illegal migrants, but also narcotics and ammunition throughout the country. Despite these allegations, Holmes said the prosecution did not sufficiently prove that Garcia posed either a flight risk or a danger to the public.
"Overall, the strength of the factors weighing in favor of release outweighs all other factors in favor of detention," Holmes wrote in her ruling. "Particularly given the clear default under the law that persons who have not yet been convicted of a crime should be released pending trial."
The Trump administration quickly moved to counter the ruling, filing a notice of appeal and signaling that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would likely take Garcia into custody regardless of the court's release order. Holmes herself acknowledged that her decision may ultimately be symbolic. "Either Abrego will remain in the custody of the Attorney General... or he will likely remain in ICE custody subject to anticipated removal proceedings that are outside the jurisdiction of this Court," she noted.
The Assistant Secretary of DHS says: Never.
Hans Mahncke
@HansMahncke
Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes--who just went to bat for accused human trafficker Kilmar Abrego--is yet another reminder of how far the system has drifted. Like Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who authorized the brazenly political FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, she isn't a proper judge in the constitutional sense. She's more like a substitute teacher handed the full authority of the principal.
The Constitution lays out a clear process for appointing federal judges: they're nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and granted life tenure under Article III. That system has produced its share of terrible appointments, but at least it follows the constitutional structure. Magistrate judges, by contrast, exist entirely outside that framework. They're appointed by district judges, not elected officials, and were originally intended as limited judicial aides. Over time, however, they've been handed sweeping powers the Constitution never envisioned.
Julie Kelly
@julie_kelly2
Two magistrate judges in DC are largely responsible for arrest warrants of 1,600 J6ers. They are not Senate approved and have zero accountability. Good post.