On June 22, Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes of Nashville ordered Garcia to be released on bail, saying she did not believe he was a flight risk or a threat to the wider community. This decision was appealed by the federal government, but U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw of Tennessee backed Holmes's ruling and said Garcia could be released.

The Trump administration plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a “third country” eventually, meaning not El Salvador, where he is from and was mistakenly sent back to earlier this year.