Abrego Garcia to remain in US for now, DOJ agrees

Lawyers for the Trump administration and Salvadorian migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia agreed on Monday to keep Abrego Garcia in U.S. criminal custody in Tennessee for a 30-day period — delaying, if only for now, the government's stated plans to remove him to a third country. 

In a filing submitted Monday to U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, lawyers for Abrego Garcia told the court that the agreement with the Justice Department will afford their client additional time to evaluate his legal options ahead of the government's plans to deport him from the U.S. again — this time, likely to a third country such as Mexico or South Sudan.

The agreement appears to be a significant concession from the Trump administration and follows senior officials telling a federal judge in Maryland earlier this month that they planned to "immediately" transfer Abrego Garcia to ICE custody upon his release from federal criminal detention in Tennessee and deport him to a third country — regardless of the status of his criminal trial.

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"The government does not object to this request, and such a short delay will not affect the parties’ ability to confer regarding a proposed scheduling order or to prepare for trial," lawyers for Abrego told Judge Crenshaw on Monday. 

"The government has informed defense counsel that it will continue producing discovery during this 30- day time period, the parties will continue to collaborate on a scheduling order in advance of the July 30, 2025 deadline, and do not anticipate continuance of the January 27, 2026 trial date due to this requested relief."

The 30-day stay appears to cap months of confusing and contradictory statements from the Trump administration in the case of Abrego Garcia, the Salvadorian migrant who was erroneously deported to El Salvador in March in violation of a court order, and returned to the U.S. three months later in June.

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The extended time frame is also likely a welcome relief for Abrego Garcia's lawyers, who are still waiting for U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis to rule on their request to block ICE from immediately deporting him to a third country.

Justice Department officials acknowledged in court that they plan to remove Abrego Garcia to a third country as early as this month. 

"There’s no intention to just put him in limbo in ICE custody while we wait for the criminal case to unfold," Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn said then. "He will be removed, as would any other illegal alien in that process."

Xinis, who has presided over the civil case since March, suggested after a days-long evidentiary hearing this month that she planned to issue a temporary restraining order requiring ICE to keep Abrego Garcia in custody for a set amount of time before they can deport him to a third country.

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She said the order would require ICE to keep Abrego Garcia in local custody for a set period — likely between 48 and 72 hours — before deportation, which Xinis suggested would ensure that Abrego Garcia had the ability to seek counsel and to contest his planned removal. Abrego Garcia was previously deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order. 

"However, I'm not willing to just allow an unfettered release of Abrego Garcia," Xinis said at the time, referring to his potential release from federal custody in Tennessee. "I want full-throated assurances" from the government on these matters, she added, noting at the end of the days-long hearing that "much delta" remained between where the parties stand and where she had hoped they would be.

Notably, the Justice Department told Xinis then that they would not agree to a stipulation she suggested, holding Abrego Carcia in ICE custody for 48- to 72-hours hold in ICE custody. It is unclear what, if anything, has changed since that hearing and Monday's filing, which agreed to the much longer administrative stay of 30 days. 

The Justice Department declined to respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.