Federal prosecutors told a judge the Trump administration will move to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to an unspecified “third country” if he’s released from a Tennessee jail.

Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States earlier this month after being deported to El Salvador.

A federal grand jury in Tennessee returned an indictment against Abrego Garcia in late May stemming from a November 2022 traffic stop.

He faces charges in a human smuggling case.

WATCH:

President Trump’s DOJ will deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a country that’s not his native El Salvador after he’s released from jail in Tennessee, a federal prosecutor told a federal judge in Maryland on Thursday.

The MS-13 illegal domestic abusing human trafficker is outta here! pic.twitter.com/J2Cc6Ibuiv

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 26, 2025

ABC News reports:

A day after the judge in Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s human smuggling case outlined the conditions of his potential release on bail, his attorneys filed an emergency motion Thursday seeking to have him returned to Maryland as he awaits trial.

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But a government attorney told U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis that, should Abrego Garcia be released on bond, the administration will seek to deport him to a country other than his native El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia, who was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution, was brought back to the U.S. earlier this month to face charges in Tennessee of allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. while he was living in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty.

He appeared in a Tennessee courtroom Wednesday, where the judge overseeing his criminal case ordered Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and the Justice Department to file briefs on whether the government has the ability to prevent his deportation while he awaits trial.

“Our plan is to — he will be taken into ICE custody and removal proceedings will be initiated,” attorney Jonathan Guynn said, according to ABC News.

BREAKING: Prosecutors tell a judge that the U.S. plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a country other than El Salvador after his release from a Tennessee jail. https://t.co/obqj8b3hcq

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 26, 2025

Per Fox News:

Xinis has scheduled a hearing on the matter for July 7. The Justice Department announced Thursday evening that Abrego Garcia will face trial on smuggling charges.

“This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again,” a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News.

At issue is whether the judge has the jurisdiction to order Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return to Maryland. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys want Xinis to order the government to return their client to Maryland and to bar U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from deporting him while his criminal case in Tennessee proceeds.