The Trump administration plans to deport Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a third country before he can face trial in Tennessee if he is released from criminal custody, a Justice Department attorney said Monday.

A Justice Department attorney told a federal judge during a hearing Monday in Maryland that the government's "plan at this stage" is to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a third country if he is released on bond by a judge in Tennessee, where he is facing human smuggling charges.

The disclosure by U.S. lawyer Jonathan Guynn contradicts statements by spokespeople for the Justice Department and the White House, who said last month that Abrego Garcia would stand trial.