The development came after a Justice Department attorney told a Judge Xinis that the government's "plan at this stage" is to deport Abrego Garcia to a third country if he is released on bond by a judge in Tennessee, where he is facing human smuggling charges.

The Trump administration will take steps to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia before he goes to trial in Tennessee if he’s released from criminal custody, which could happen as soon as next week, a Justice Department attorney said Monday.

The Justice Department’s “current plan” is to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a third country — not El Salvador — if the wrongly deported Maryland man is freed from federal