Judge will consider Abrego Garcia’s request to try to avoid deportation before his trial

By BEN FINLEY and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday will consider Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s request to be sent to Maryland to await trial on human smuggling charges, a bid aimed at preventing the Trump administration from trying to deport him again.

Abrego Garcia could be released as soon as next week from a jail in Tennessee. He is being held in connection with 2022 traffic stop for speeding in the state during which he was driving a vehicle with nine passengers without luggage.