Supporters of Kilmar Abrego Garcia rallied Monday as a judge in Maryland heard arguments over whether the Salvadoran native should be returned to the state ahead of his trial on federal human smuggling charges in Tennessee. 

The tense hearing comes amid a months-long legal battle that began after Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported from Maryland to El Salvador in March, despite a court ruling that barred him from being sent to his home country. 

Another hearing is set for 1 p.m. on Thursday, when the judge demanded that a government official with direct knowledge of plans for Abrego Garcia testify under oath. 

Then, she said she will decide on ordering his return to Maryland. 

Support for Abrego Garcia

Amid chants of "due process matters" and "bring Kilmar home," the advocacy group CASA made its voice heard ahead of Monday's hearing before Judge Paula Xinis. 

"For more than three months, we have shown up rain or shine from El Salvador to Maryland," said CASA legal director Ama Frimpong. "Make no mistake, Kilmar is back on U.S. soil because of us."

Frimpong said, "The (Trump) administration must release Kilmar back to his home right here in Maryland and take accountability for its heinous actions and end its assault on our immigrant communities once and for all."

Delegate Ashanti Martinez, a Prince George's County Democrat and chair of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus, told the crowd, "Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a Maryland man, not a gang member."

"He is not a threat," Martinez said. "He is not a flight risk. He is not a criminal. He is a Prince Georgian, a man who is raising his family here, paying his taxes, and contributing to the fabric of this state like so many other hard-working immigrants who call Maryland home."

Greg Akerman, president of the Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council, called Abrego Garcia his brother. 

"What none of us thought would happen is what happened to Kilmar," Akerman said. "Our members know that this could happen to any one of them. …We stand with Kilmar, and we have one simple message—bring Kilmar home."

DOJ calls Abrego Garcia "dangerous"

The Trump administration unsuccessfully fought to get the Maryland case dismissed and told Judge Xinis that Abrego Garcia was "dangerous."

Government attorney Jonathan Guynn said the Department of Justice intends to prosecute Abrego Garcia on human trafficking charges in Tennessee and will "protect the U.S. from a dangerous illegal alien." 

"This isn't someone you'd want in your community," Guynn said, repeating that Abrego Garcia poses a dangerous risk even under strict conditions of release. 

In a fiery exchange with Guynn, Judge Xinis said she is tired of the "stumping" and criticized how the government has handled the case from the start. 

"It's like trying to nail Jello to a wall to determine what is going to happen," Xinis said as she blasted the government for claiming she has no jurisdiction to bring him back to Maryland.

"It's chaos, and it's chaos that can be completely avoided," she continued. "I'm not going to buy for a second that you can't tell this court or the plaintiffs what the plan is." 

"For three months, your clients told the world they would do nothing to bring him back. …Am I really supposed to ignore all that?" the judge asked.

ICE could deport Abrego Garcia again 

Abrego Garcia's lawyers are asking for him to remain in custody over concerns that he may be deported again if he is released. 

Upon Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S., the Justice Department filed a motion requesting that he remain in custody ahead of trial.

A Tennessee judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, denied the motion and ordered Abrego Garcia's release.

But in a hearing on June 26, Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn said that once Abrego Garcia is released from detention, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intends to begin removal proceedings to send him to a "third country," rather than El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia's attorneys have since requested that he be protected from another deportation and returned to Maryland.

To secure Abrego Garcia's release without deportation, his attorneys asked Holmes to delay his release from federal custody. 

Federal prosecutors did not oppose the request. 

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland, who is overseeing the immigration aspects of Abrego Garcia's case, is reviewing arguments on that matter Monday, as well as the U.S. government's motion to dismiss Abrego Garcia's civil lawsuit over his mistaken deportation in March.

Advocates call for Abrego Garcia's release

Activists with CASA – a Maryland-based immigration advocacy and assistance organization – along with faith leaders and other immigration advocates, called for Abrego Garcia to be returned Monday morning.    

A crowd of supporters of Kilmar Abrego Garcia gathered outside the Greenbelt, Maryland, federal courthouse, where a judge will hear arguments to dismiss his Maryland case.

"Fight back harder and demand justice for Kilmar, and all the Kilmars out there," one protester said.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was among more than 250 Venezuelan and Salvadoran men deported from the U.S. to El Salvador and held in the Central American country's CECOT prison.

• Immigration