HOUSTON, United States 

A federal judge in the US state of Tennessee ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from jail Sunday while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges, but he is not expected to be set free, according to media reports.

Abrego Garcia, 30, was detained on March 12 and mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison with nearly 200 undocumented immigrants by the Trump administration during a nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid that targeted alleged Salvadoran and Venezuelan gang members.

His case has been at the center of attention in the US court system regarding the legality of ICE's immigration sweeps after he was detained by federal agents in his home state of Maryland and flown to El Salvador without due process of a court hearing, despite having a 2019 court order protecting him from deportation to that country due to a fear of persecution.

After months of political and legal challenges since his mistaken deportation, Abrego Garcia was returned to the US on June 6 to face trial on human smuggling charges.

The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding and in which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle carrying nine passengers. Even though officers suspected possible human smuggling, he was allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the allegations, which his attorneys have characterized as an attempt by the US government to justify the deportation mistake after the fact.

His attorneys requested that their client be released from jail while he awaits his court case, but at a June 13 detention hearing, ICE officials said they would take him into custody if he were let go and that he could face another deportation without a chance to stand trial.

US Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes wrote in her ruling that the government failed to prove that Abrego Garcia was a flight risk, that he posed a danger to the community, or that he would interfere with proceedings if released.

"Overall, the Court cannot find from the evidence presented that Abrego’s release clearly and convincingly poses an irremediable danger to other persons or to the community," said Holmes.

The judge, however, acknowledged that her ruling to allow his release was "little more than an academic exercise," since ICE will likely detain him. She added that Abrego Garcia, like everyone, is entitled to the presumption of innocence and "a full and fair determination of whether he must remain in federal custody pending trial."

Holmes has scheduled a hearing on Wednesday to discuss the conditions of his release from jail.

Attorneys for the US government have already filed a motion to appeal the judge's ruling.