The judge did not rule immediately on whether he will stay in custody while he awaits trial, the latest event in a monthslong back-and-forth since he was erroneously sent to a prison in El Salvador.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, pleaded innocent Friday to human smuggling charges in a federal court in Tennessee.

The new details about Abrego Garcia’s alleged “full-time job” come from co-conspirators and witnesses cooperating with the feds’ human smuggling case against the Salvadoran national.