A federal judge on Friday granted a request by Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to keep him in jail until his next hearing, a maneuver intended to prevent his deportation from the U.S.

A federal judge in Tennessee on Friday granted an unusual request by attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal migrant facing human smuggling charges, to keep him in jail. The maneuver is designed to prevent his immediate deportation from the U.

Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes is a three-time felon released early from federal prison to a halfway house in exchange for testifying against Kilmar Abrego García.