SUMMARY: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, wrongfully deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador despite a 2019 order protecting him, was released from criminal custody in Tennessee and is returning to Maryland. Abrego Garcia faces federal human smuggling charges, which his lawyers call politically motivated and vindictive. Deportation to El Salvador violated due process, but officials now seek to deport him to Uganda after he rejected an offer to go to Costa Rica. Born in El Salvador, Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally at 16 fleeing gang threats and settled in Maryland with his U.S. citizen wife and children. His case highlights ongoing immigration and legal disputes.

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SUMMARY: Tennessee faces a critical shortage of foster parents, with nearly 9,000 children in foster care but only 4,500 foster homes available. Youth Villages is addressing this by hosting free online foster parent information sessions through August and September to recruit more caregivers. Magdalena Jaramillo from Youth Villages emphasizes the need for caring adults to provide support and nurture children’s dreams. Kevin Gill, a foster parent with 10 years’ experience, highlights the rewarding nature of fostering and encourages others to consider it. Tennessee foster parents must be at least 21, have income, pass background checks, and complete training. Details on sessions are available on Youth Villages’ website.

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by Anita Wadhwani, Tennessee Lookout
August 22, 2025

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wrongful deportation to a prison in El Salvador brought widespread public scrutiny of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown tactics, was released from a rural Tennessee jail on Friday, four months after being detained while driving to his Maryland home.

Abrego will be escorted by the U.S. Marshals Service back Maryland, where he must report to pretrial services by 10 a.m. Monday. He will also be under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which could choose to detain him. A Maryland court order in a separate case requires he be given 72 hours notice if the government plans to send him to a “third country.”

An order filed Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Tennessee noted that “should Abrego be taken into ICE custody following his return to Maryland” the government “shall ensure that, while Abrego remains in ICE custody, he has access to his attorneys, both physically and via telephone, to allow Abrego to prepare for trial in this case.”

Abrego will also be subject to electronic location monitoring and placed in the custody of his brother, the order noted.

Abrego, as the Tennessee court refers to him, was dispatched to El Salvador after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Maryland, where he has lived with his wife and children and works as an apprentice sheet metal worker. A government prosecutor later conceded his deportation was an error. Abrego, who entered the country illegally as a teen, was the subject of an immigration court order barring his removal to his home country of El Salvador, where he said he feared gang violence.

He was returned to Tennessee in June to face human smuggling charges that prosecutors say are tied to a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop. Abrego was neither cited nor arrested when he was pulled over by Tennessee Highway Patrol officers with nine passengers in his vehicle. Prosecutors now allege the stop was part of a human smuggling operation in which Abrego was paid to transport immigrants illegally in the United States to points around the country.

Abrego has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said in a statement that Abrego’s release shows the “legal system has worked its will and is upholding Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s right to due process.”

“While I have no doubt the Administration will continue its attempts to undermine Mr. Abrego Garcia’s rights, we will continue fighting to see them maintained — because due process in this case does not end with his release. Mr. Abrego Garcia must continue to be allowed to defend himself in court, where the Trump Administration must make its case before taking any further action against him. 

“This is a matter that’s greater than just this one case or one man – if one person’s rights are denied, then the rights of all of us are at risk.”

This story may be updated.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The content presents a critical view of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, highlighting a wrongful deportation case and emphasizing the human impact of immigration enforcement. While it reports facts and legal proceedings, the focus on the administration’s errors and the personal story of the immigrant suggests a perspective that leans toward advocating for immigrant rights and reform, which is commonly associated with a center-left viewpoint.