Justice Department says Kilmar Abrego Garcia will face US trial before any move to deport him again

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Thursday that it intends to try Kilmar Abrego Garcia on federal smuggling charges in Tennessee before it moves to deport him, addressing fears that he could be expelled again from the U.S. within days.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville, Tennessee, recently ruled that Abrego Garcia has a right to be released from jail while awaiting trial on the smuggling charges. But she decided Wednesday to keep him in custody for at least a few more days over concerns that U.S. immigration officials would swiftly detain him and try to deport him again.

But DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told The Associated Press that Abrego Garcia will first be tried in court on the charges.

“This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again,” Gilmartin said.

Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. Facing mounting pressure and a Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned him this month to face the smuggling charges, which Abrego Garcia's attorneys characterized as an attempt to justify his erroneous deportation.

As Abrego Garcia's criminal case has moved forward, concerns grew that he would be swiftly deported upon his release from jail in Tennessee.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers filed an emergency request Thursday to a federal judge in Maryland to order the government to take Abrego Garcia to that state upon release, an arrangement that would prevent his deportation before trial.

“If this Court does not act swiftly, then the Government is likely to whisk Abrego Garcia away to some place far from Maryland,” Abrego Garcia’s attorneys wrote.

Abrego Garcia had lived and worked as a construction worker in Maryland with his American wife and children for more than a decade before his deportation in March. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is suing the Trump administration over his deportation in the Maryland federal court where Abrego Garcia's attorneys filed their emergency request.

“We have concerns that the government may try to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia quickly over the weekend,” one of his attorneys, Jonathan Cooper, told U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland, during a conference call Thursday afternoon.

Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn acknowledged on the call that the U.S. government plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a “third country” that isn’t El Salvador. But he said there was no timeline for the deportation plans.

“We do plan to comply with the orders we’ve received from this court and other courts,” he said. “But there’s no timeline for these specific proceedings.”

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson posted on X later Thursday: “Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States to face trial for the egregious charges against him. He will face the full force of the American justice system — including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed.”

Xinis said during the conference call that she could not move as quickly as Abrego Garcia’s attorneys would like. She said she had to consider the Trump administration’s pending motions to dismiss the case before she could rule on the emergency request. The judge scheduled a July 7 court hearing in Maryland to discuss the emergency request and other matters.

When the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia, it violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that barred his expulsion to his native country. The judge had found that Abrego Garcia faced a credible threat from gangs who had terrorized him and his family.

The Trump administration described its violation of the immigration judge’s 2019 order as an administrative error. Trump and other officials doubled down on claims Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, an accusation that Abrego Garcia denies.

Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty on June 13 to smuggling charges that his attorneys have characterized as an attempt to justify his mistaken expulsion to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

Those charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding in Tennessee, during which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers without luggage.

Holmes, the magistrate judge in Tennessee, wrote in a ruling Sunday that federal prosecutors failed to show that Abrego Garcia was a flight risk or a danger to the community.

During a court hearing Wednesday, Holmes set specific conditions for Abrego Garcia’s release that included him living with his brother, a U.S. citizen, in Maryland. But she held off on releasing him over concerns that prosecutors can’t prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from deporting him.

Holmes ordered Abrego Garcia’s lawyers and prosecutors to file briefs on the matter Thursday and Friday respectively.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives at the federal courthouse, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, arrives at the federal courthouse, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, center left, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia leaves the federal courthouse Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

This courtroom sketch depicts, from left, attorney Sean Hecker, Kilmar Abrego Garcia and attorney Rascoe Dean in court during Garcia's detention hearing on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Diego Fishburn)

This courtroom sketch depicts Kilmar Abrego Garcia sitting in court during his detention hearing on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (Diego Fishburn via AP)

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court began hearing arguments Monday about the sentencing of democracy advocate and onetime-media magnate Jimmy Lai and his co-defendants, whose convictions under a national security law could land them in prison for life.

Lai, 78, is the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper and an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party. He was arrested in 2020 under the law imposed by Beijing following massive anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong the year before.

In December, he was found guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious articles.

His conviction raised concerns about the curtailing of press freedom in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

His case could also be a test for Beijing's diplomatic ties. The verdict drew criticism from foreign governments, including the U.S. and Britain. After the verdict, U.S. President Donald Trump, who had raised Lai’s case with China, said he felt “so badly.”

Lai, alongside other co-defendants involved in the case, appeared in court for the four-day mitigation hearings. The maximum penalty for their convictions is life imprisonment. Sentencing will come later.

The court Monday morning heard arguments concerning two activists’ sentences. Lawyers representing them suggested the starting points of their clients’ sentences should be 10 years and 10 to 15 years respectively, but they should receive reductions in part due to their assistance in the case.

Lai’s lawyer Robert Pang will deliver his arguments in the afternoon.

When Lai entered the courtroom, he pressed his palms together, an apparent gesture to express gratitude, and smiled at those sitting in the gallery. The media tycoon appeared to be in good spirits and greeted a convicted Apple Daily editor who was also sitting in the dock.

In August, his lawyers told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations. Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found in a subsequent medical exam.

Prosecutor Anthony Chau said Lai’s health was stable. Chau said Lai had lost just 0.8 kg (about 1.8 pounds) over five years of detention, weighing 79.2 kg (about 175 pounds) when it was last measured this month. Lai is still considered obese as an Asian adult, Chau said. The obesity comment drew chuckling from some members sitting in the public gallery, and Lai also smiled in the dock.

Before sunrise, dozens of people had already lined up outside the court building to secure a seat in the public gallery. Retiree Simon Ng, a former Apple Daily reader, said he arrived and waited in line since Friday morning, hoping to see Lai.

“I want to let him know that he’s not alone," Ng said. “Many people support him."

Lai was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, in addition to one count of conspiracy to distribute seditious publications. Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges.

A conviction on the collusion charge under the security law results in a sentence ranging from three years in jail to life, depending on the offense’s nature and his role in it. The sedition charge under a separate, colonial-era law carries a maximum of two years’ imprisonment.

Three government-vetted judges wrote in their December verdict that Lai spearheaded the conspiracies and took issue with what they called his “constant invitation” to the United States to bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.

Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for foreign sanctions before the national security law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law. They also argued on freedom of expression grounds.

But the judges said that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party. After the enactment of the law, he intended to continue, though less explicitly, they said. They emphasized that Lai was not on trial for his political views.

Beijing has opposed what it called the smearing of Hong Kong's judiciary “by certain countries,” saying the judicial authorities perform duties according to the law.

Six ex-Apple Daily senior executives and two activists involved in Lai's case had entered guilty pleas, admitting that they had conspired with Lai and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions, blockades or engage in other hostile activities.

The executives were publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung and editorial writers Fung Wai-kong and Yeung Ching-kee. Some of them, alongside the two activists Andy Li and Chan Tsz-wah, served as prosecution witnesses during the 156-day trial.

A guilty plea usually can lead to a sentence reduction. Under the security law, a reduced penalty may be granted to those who report on the offense committed by others.

Chan Pui man's husband, Chung Pui-kuen, a former top editor of Stand News who had been sentenced to 21 months in jail in a separate sedition case, was among those sitting in the public gallery.

After the verdict, Lai's daughter, Claire, said Lai would devote himself to God and his family rather than political activism if he were released.

Trump said after the verdict that he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Lai and “asked to consider his release." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, a British citizen.

People line up behind the barricades to attend the hearing about the upcoming sentence for pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)

Correctional Services Department vehicles arrive at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, ahead of a hearing to hear arguments about the sentencing of democracy advocate and onetime media magnate Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)

Members of foreign councils arrive at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts to attend a hearing to hear arguments about the sentencing of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)

Robert Pang, center, lawyer for pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai arrives to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, ahead of a hearing to hear arguments about the sentencing of Lai, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)

Teresa Lai, wife of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai arrives to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts to attend a hearing to hear arguments about the sentencing of Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)

FILE- Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is escorted by Correctional Services officers to get on a prison van before appearing in a court in Hong Kong, Dec. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)