HOUSTON, US

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released Friday from criminal custody in the state of Tennessee, five months after being wrongfully deported from the US to El Salvador, according to media outlets.

Abrego Garcia's case has been the focal point of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration versus rights activists, who claim that detainees are not being given their constitutional due process to have their cases heard in front of a judge before being deported.

The case began in March after Abrego Garcia was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in the state of Maryland and mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador along with nearly 150 undocumented migrants accused of being members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

After months of being held in El Salvador, the Trump administration brought Abrego Garcia back to the US to face federal charges of alleged human smuggling in the state of Tennessee, which his lawyers argue is a politically motivated move.

"Today, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free," attorney Sean Hecker said in a statement. "He is presently en route to his family in Maryland, after being unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government’s vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law."

A court ruled that the Trump administration could not attempt to deport Abrego Garcia a second time after being released from criminal custody in Tennessee until after his human smuggling trial takes place.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem criticized the release.

"Activist liberal judges have attempted to obstruct our law enforcement every step of the way in removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country," she said in a statement.

"Today, we reached a new low with this publicity-hungry Maryland judge mandating this illegal alien who is a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator be allowed free," she added.

Abrego Garcia's human smuggling case is expected to start Jan. 27, 2027, in Tennessee. He will remain with his family in Maryland until he is brought back for trial.