Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia have asked a federal judge in Maryland to order his return to that state when he is released from jail in Tennessee, an arrangement that would prevent likely attempts by immigration officials to quickly deport him.

Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn said the removal proceedings would be to a “third country.” But the prosecutor also said there are “no imminent plans” to deport Abrego Garcia and the U.S. government would comply with all court orders.

The Maryland construction worker became a flashpoint over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies after he was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador in March. He’ss been in jail in Tennessee since being returned to the U.S. June 7 on charges of human smuggling.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville has ruled that Abrego Garcia has a right to be released while awaiting trial. But she decided Wednesday to keep him in custody for at least a few more days over concerns that U.S. immigration officials would try to deport him again.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys in Maryland, where his wife is suing the Trump administration over his March deportation, have offered up a possible solution. They’ve asked the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit to direct the government to bring him to Maryland while he awaits trial in Tennessee.

“If this Court does not act swiftly, then the Government is likely to whisk Abrego Garcia away to some place far from Maryland,” Abrego Garcia’s attorneys wrote in a request to U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Xinis said she could not move as quickly as Abrego Garcia’s attorneys would like. She said she had to consider the Trump administration’s pending motions to dismiss the case before she could rule on the emergency request. The judge scheduled a July 7 court hearing in Maryland to discuss the emergency request and other matters.

Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland, just outside Washington, with his American wife and children for more than a decade. His deportation violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that barred his expulsion to his native country. The judge had found that Abrego Garcia faced a credible threat from gangs who had terrorized him and his family.

The Trump administration described its violation of the immigration judge’s 2019 order as an administrative error. Trump and other officials doubled down on claims Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, which Abrego Garcia denies.

Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty June 13 to smuggling charges that his attorneys have characterized as an attempt to justify his mistaken expulsion to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Those charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding in Tennessee, in which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers without luggage.

During a court hearing Wednesday, Holmes set conditions for his release that included Abrego Garcia living with his brother, a U.S. citizen, in Maryland. But she held off on releasing him over concerns that prosecutors can’t prevent ICE from deporting him.