A judge in Tennessee said the Justice Department hasn’t made a convincing case that Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be kept in pretrial detention, though the mistakenly deported man who was returned to the US is likely to remain in federal immigration custody regardless.

The judge noted that her ruling could be seen as an "academic exercise" if Abrego Garcia just winds up held in immigration custody, anyway.

The government quickly filed a request to stay the judge's order and keep Abrego Garcia in custody, a filing that made it clear it would again subject him to deportation proceedings.