A Tennessee judge is weighing whether to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, once mistakenly deported to El Salvador, as he awaits his human smuggling trial. After arguments in court on Wednesday, the judge said he will not make a decision until next week. CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes reports.

Maryland

A Tennessee judge is deliberating on whether to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was previously deported to El Salvador by mistake, as he awaits trial on human smuggling charges. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys have presented arguments regarding Garcia's custody status, with concerns about potential deportation if he is released.

The judge has stated that a decision will be made next week. If Garcia is released, he may be transferred to ICE custody, where authorities will determine whether to deport him or keep him in detention. If not released, Garcia will remain in federal custody until his trial.

Judge in Kilmar Garcia's case to decide on release next week

Meanwhile, a Tennessee judge is weighing whether to release the man once mistakenly deported to El Salvador. We're talking about the flashpoint case of Kilmar Obrego-Garcia, who is now facing a human smuggling trial. After arguments in court today, the judge said he would not make a decision until next week. CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdez is live outside the courthouse in Nashville, Tennessee, for us. Nicole, what were your key takeaways from court today? Well, I think the biggest thing that stood out here is that this is now the third time that Obrego-Garcia has sat before a judge here in the state to really determine what his next steps are, where he will be kept, if he will remain in custody, or if he will be released ahead of this criminal trial, something that no one has really been able to decide definitively since he was brought back to the U.S. to face these charges. Both prosecutors and his defense attorneys have gone back and forth on this issue on several occasions because of the nuance with the potential that he could face deportation again if he were to be released. Now, the issue is that his defense attorneys argue he should not be remaining in custody until that trial because they don't think that the government has provided enough proof to show that he is a danger, that he is a flight risk. But they recognize that if he's released, there's a chance that that may not be in his best interest because Homeland Security has already said they may look to deport him to a third country if that is to happen. So right now we're sort of at a cross point between both sides here, and both judges here in Tennessee and in Maryland are also saying they want to make sure that Obrego-Garcia gets the due process this time around that he should have gotten back in March. Okay, so what's next for him after this judge makes their decision then? I think that all depends on what the decision is, right? If he is released and he goes back into ICE custody, then we sort of see a ticking clock begin where ICE will have time to decide what they want to do and make a decision on where they want to send him if they choose to deport him or keep him in one of their several ICE facilities. But if they decide that he's not to be released, he'll stay in federal custody until he faces a trial on those charges. Alright, Nicole Valdez, thanks so much.

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