A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to produce documents related to its decision to investigate and criminally charge Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, setting the stage for what promises to be a contentious evidentiary hearing in Nashville next month.

U.S. Judge Waverly Crenshaw’s order, filed earlier this month and released publicly on Tuesday, requires the Justice Department to provide defense lawyers with all relevant documents concerning its decision to open an investigation and seek criminal charges against Abrego Garcia for conduct stemming from a 2022 traffic stop.

The Justice Department initiated the criminal investigation and presented the case to a grand jury while Abrego Garcia was detained at CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. During this same period, government lawyers were telling a federal judge in Maryland they had no power to return him from Salvadoran custody.

While the order requires document production, it stops short of compelling government witnesses to testify at next month’s hearing. This includes Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose involvement has been central to the defense team’s allegations of vindictive prosecution. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have argued that Blanche played “a leading role” in the decision to prosecute him—a claim Blanche’s office has strongly denied.

“The cornerstone of Abrego’s motion to dismiss is that the decision to prosecute him was in retaliation for his success in the Maryland District Court,” Judge Crenshaw noted in the newly unsealed ruling.

The judge added: “Indeed, at the time of Abrego’s arrest, Blanche linked Abrego’s criminal charges to his successful civil lawsuit in Maryland. Specifically, some of the documents suggest not only that McGuire was not a solitary decision-maker, but he, in fact, reported to others in DOJ and the decision to prosecute Abrego may have been a joint decision, with others who may or may not have acted with improper motivation.”

In October, Judge Crenshaw had ruled that Abrego Garcia established a “reasonable likelihood” that the criminal case against him resulted from vindictive prosecution by the Justice Department. This determination shifted the burden to the government to rebut the allegation ahead of trial and ordered the administration to produce internal documents and witnesses to testify about its prosecution decision.

The Justice Department has vigorously resisted these efforts, arguing that the documents should be protected by attorney-client privilege, work-product privilege, and other protections. The evidentiary hearing is scheduled for January 28, though Judge Crenshaw has separately canceled Abrego Garcia’s criminal trial date in what appears to be a procedural move.

Abrego Garcia’s case has become a focal point of legal and political controversy for nearly eleven months, beginning with his arrest and deportation to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 withholding of removal order. His detention at CECOT occurred during a period when the Trump administration used a 1798 wartime immigration law to deport hundreds of migrants to El Salvador.

The case highlights ongoing tensions between immigration enforcement policies and judicial oversight. The Maryland federal court case referenced by Judge Crenshaw resulted in Abrego Garcia’s release from detention and return to the United States, where he has since been required to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities in Baltimore.

Legal experts note that the upcoming evidentiary hearing could have significant implications not just for Abrego Garcia’s case, but also for the limits of prosecutorial discretion in immigration-related matters. The judge’s order demanding documentation marks an unusual step in challenging the executive branch’s decision-making process on immigration enforcement.

The Justice Department has not yet commented on whether it plans to appeal the document production order before the January hearing.