A Tennessee judge is set to decide if Kilmar Abrego Garcia will be released from federal custody while awaiting trial. If he is released, he could end up back in ICE custody. CBS News' Nicole Valdes has the latest details.

Nashville

A federal judge in Tennessee is considering whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who faces human smuggling charges, should remain in federal custody or be transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody while awaiting trial. Garcia was previously deported to El Salvador despite a court order, and there are concerns that if he is released to ICE, he could be deported again, potentially to a third country.

Legal authorities in Maryland, where Garcia's initial deportation is under review, have expressed reservations about his transfer to ICE, citing the need to preserve due process. The Department of Justice and Homeland Security have indicated that the decision on his potential deportation destination would be made if and when he is transferred to ICE custody. The case remains complex, with multiple legal proceedings ongoing.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia could be released but end up back in ICE custody

The Trump administration is releasing 2,000 National Guard troops from California, more than a month after they were deployed to respond to immigration protests. 4,000 Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines were sent in. Governor Gavin Newsom called on the Trump administration to return the remaining forces, but the White House argued the deployment was necessary. About 2,000 National Guard troops will remain in Los Angeles. We're also just hours away from a hearing that could land Kilmar Abrego-Garcia back in ICE custody. He's the man, you'll recall, who was deported from Maryland to El Salvador back in March, despite a court order that should have prevented that from ever happening. CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdez joins us from Nashville this morning to break down the details of what we know. So, Nicole, what is supposed to happen later today in court? Hey, Vlad, well, look, this is Kilmar Abrego-Garcia's third time here at a federal courthouse in Tennessee, and each one of the hearings that we've seen so far have been several hours long between his attorneys, the prosecutors, and the judge, all really trying to make sense of what is going to be next for the man, who, as you mentioned, was initially wrongfully deported back to El Salvador and is now facing potential deportation again. The issue is where he will remain in custody as he's facing several criminal charges in this state on human smuggling charges. Now, what the prosecution wants to do, initially at least, was keep him in federal custody until he's able to be tried on those charges. However, there is a chance that if the judge chooses to release him, he would go back to ICE custody, and that is where a lot of the confusion has really stemmed, because if he goes back into ICE custody, the government and the Department of Justice and Homeland Security have made very clear they may look to deport him to a third country. What country that is, they say they don't know at this point. That is something that they claim will be decided if and when he is officially transported over into ICE custody. But a separate judge over in Maryland that's presiding over that case against the government for his initial deportation has had reservations about really having him go back into ICE custody, because she says she wants to preserve the due process and avoid what initially happened from happening again. So Vlad, this is a vastly complex case here, and we're looking today to see if the judge will make that decision on whether or not he will be released into that custody and whether that process will then begin, or if he'll stay in federal custody and face trial at a later date. Wow. All right, Nicole Valdez, with all the critical details for us this morning. Thank you, Nicole.

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