Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported in March before being brought back to the U.S., was released from criminal custody in Tennessee and on his way to Maryland, an attorney for Abrego Garcia told ABC News.
The Salvadoran native had been in criminal custody since the federal government brought him back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges.
Once he is is released, immigration authorities will not be allowed to detain Abrego Garcia due to a ruling from a federal judge who last month ordered the government to return him to Maryland andblocked the administration from deporting him upon his release in Tennessee.
In a statement released by the immigrant advocacy organization CASA, Abrego Garcia said: "Today has been a very special day because I have seen my family for the first time in more than 160 days. I’d like to thank all the people who have supported me because after this long time I have witnessed that so many people have been by my side with such positivity." The statement went on to say: "Today I am grateful to God because He has heard me and today I am out. We are steps closer to justice, but justice has not been fully served.”
Abrego Garcia's lawyers said this week that they hired a private security company to bring him to Maryland.
An attorney representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia told ABC News Friday that while his client's release brings some relief, he is "far from safe."
"For the first time since March, our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia is reunited with his loving family," said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. "While his release brings some relief, we all know that he is far from safe. ICE detention or deportation to an unknown third country still threaten to tear his family apart. A measure of justice has been done, but the government must stop pursuing actions that would once again separate this family."
One source told ABC News that Abrego Garcia received a notice to report to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore on Monday.
Abrego Garcia must remain in the custody of his brother in Maryland, according to his release order.
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