Kilmar Abrego Garcia pleaded not responsible Friday to human smuggling fees, one week after he was introduced again to the Unites States from detention in El Salvador.
The 29-year-old entered his plea at his arraignment in Tennessee, the place federal prosecutors have charged him with transporting undocumented migrants inside the U.S. in what they are saying was a conspiracy involving the home transport of 1000’s of noncitizens from Mexico and Central America, together with some kids, in change for 1000’s of {dollars}.
Following his plea, the choose started listening to arguments over whether or not to carry a pre-trial detention listening to with a view to decide if Abrego Garcia ought to proceed to be held in custody pending trial. That listening to, if accredited, would happen subsequent.
The federal government’s first witness in making its case for detention was Homeland Safety particular agent Pete Joseph, who testified about his investigation into the 2022 traffic stop the place Abrego Garcia was pulled over for dashing in a automobile with eight passengers, and advised police that they had been working development in Missouri.
As ABC Information previously reported, the prison investigation that led to the costs was launched in April as federal authorities started to scrutinize the cease.
Abrego Garcia has been the topic of a chronic authorized battle since he was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — regardless of a 2019 courtroom order barring his deportation to that nation on account of concern of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the prison gang MS-13, which his household and attorneys deny.
The Trump administration, after arguing for almost two months that it was unable to being him again, returned him the U.S. final week to face a two-count indictment alleging that, whereas dwelling along with his spouse and youngsters in Maryland, he participated in a yearslong conspiracy to haul undocumented migrants from Texas to the inside of the nation.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant on this handout picture obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025.
Abrego Garcia Household by way of Reuters
In a court filing on Monday, prosecutors acknowledged that Abrego Garcia would nearly actually be instantly taken in custody by ICE if U.S. Justice of the Peace Decide Barbara Holmes was to disclaim their movement for pre-trial detention — however they requested the courtroom to contemplate, for the sake of argument, the chance that he “would have an infinite purpose to flee” if he weren’t instantly detained by ICE.
Additionally they argued that Abrego-Garcia’s alleged MS-13 ties put him susceptible to trying to hinder justice or intimidate potential witnesses towards him, together with his alleged co-conspirators.
“America would submit that at the least one co-conspirator has described that the Defendant has beforehand used his membership in MS-13 not simply to facilitate his criminal activity within the smuggling conspiracy but additionally to intimidate others within the conspiracy who tried to confront him concerning the therapy of feminine smuggling victims and his smuggling of firearms and medicines which added to the conspiracy’s threat of detection and weren’t a objective of the general conspiracy,” the federal government’s submitting mentioned.
In response, attorneys for Abrego Garcia mentioned in a submitting Wednesday that the Trump administration’s arguments for a detention listening to are meritless.
“It must also come as no shock that the federal government has not cited a single case holding {that a} generic alien-smuggling cost gives grounds for a detention listening to,” Abrego Garcia’s attorneys mentioned. “This case shouldn’t be the primary.”
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys additionally argued within the submitting that their shopper just isn’t a flight threat, and mentioned that the federal government “factors to zero details” suggesting Abrego Garcia has a historical past of evading arrest, has any prior restrictions, or has “systematically engaged in worldwide journey within the current previous.”
The attorneys additionally argued that there isn’t any “severe threat” Abrego Garcia will hinder justice, arguing that the federal government’s “baseless gang-affiliation allegations” don’t help a discovering that he poses a “severe threat” of obstructive habits.
“[The] authorities just isn’t entitled to hunt detention on this case, Mr. Abrego Garcia respectfully asks the Courtroom to disclaim the federal government’s movement for detention,” the attorneys mentioned.
