A federal judge in Tennessee will hear arguments Thursday over whether the government is being vindictive in pursuing a human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The hearing comes after the judge, Waverly Crenshaw Jr., canceled the trial in the case in December and wrote in a court order that there was enough evidence to hold a hearing on the question of vindictive prosecution<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The government is currently blocked from deporting Abrego Garcia, who was released from immigration detention<\/a> in December. In a separate case last week, a federal judge ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot re-detain him because his 90-day detention period had expired and the government lacked a viable plan for his deportation.<\/p>\n The Salvadoran native, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in Marc<\/a>h to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he and his attorneys deny.<\/p>\n Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a rally in his honor at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore on Aug. 25, 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Stephanie Scarbrough\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charge<\/a>s in Tennessee, to which he pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n After being released into the custody of his brother in Maryland pending trial, he was again detained by immigration authorities before being released in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Baltimore\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/d7e8a9b4-9ffa-465d-b86f-95e6333036ac\/abrego-garcia-ap-jef-260225_1772039561154_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Baltimore\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>