Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawyers and government ask judge for 30-day pause if he's ordered to be released

Source: NBC News

July 21, 2025, 11:28 AM EDT


The government and Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s team have asked a judge for a 30-day pause if he’s ordered to be released from custody while pending trial. Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was erroneously deported in March to El Salvador, is being held in Nashville, Tennessee, on human smuggling charges.

He’s waiting for U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, who is overseeing the case, to rule on the government’s motion to revoke Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes' order that Abrego Garcia be released pending trial. The ruling is expected to be announced sometime this week.

On Sunday, the government and Abrego Garcia's lawyers asked that in the event the court denies the government’s motion for revocation, the court grant a 30-day stay of any release order being issued to give Abrego Garcia time "to evaluate his options and determine whether additional relief is necessary."

The stay request stated that Abrego Garcia's attorneys were advised that if the court denied the government’s motion for revocation, he'd be transferred to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, and removal proceedings would commence. "The government does not object to this request, and such a short delay will not affect the parties’ ability to conference regarding a proposed scheduling order or to prepare for trial," the filing by Abrego Garcia's counsel said.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kilmar-abrego-garcias-lawyers-government-ask-judge-30-day-pause-ordere-rcna220000