Kilmar Abrego Garcia Repatriated to US to Face Trafficking Charges

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national mistakenly deported in March, has returned to the US to face serious human trafficking charges. His legal representatives term the charges as "preposterous," raising concerns about the government's handling of the case.

Kilmar Ábrego García, a 29-year-old from El Salvador, is back in the United States after being mistakenly deported earlier this year. He is now facing two federal charges related to a trafficking conspiracy allegedly spanning several years, aimed at smuggling individuals from Texas to various locations across the country. In an official statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi noted that after the U.S. presented an arrest warrant, the Salvadoran government agreed to facilitate his return.

His attorney has vehemently dismissed the charges against him as "preposterous." García's unexpected return follows a prolonged legal struggle initiated by the White House, which had sought to avoid compliance with a Supreme Court mandate from April that required his repatriation. After spending time in a prison in El Salvador alongside other deportees, a grand jury indictment recently unsealed in a Tennessee court detailed accusations against him, including one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and a second charge for unlawful transportation of undocumented individuals.

Bondi highlighted that the indictment suggested García played a "significant role" in an extensive alien smuggling operation, wherein he is alleged to have facilitated the illegal transportation of thousands of immigrants, including members of the notorious MS-13 gang. The Trump administration previously claimed that García was affiliated with the transnational gang, a claim he has consistently refuted. Additionally, while allegations were made regarding his involvement in trafficking weapons and narcotics, he was not charged with related offenses.

García's attorneys contend that he possesses no criminal convictions in either the U.S. or El Salvador, including accusations of affiliation with any gangs. Simon Sandoval Moshenberg, one of his legal representatives, criticized the actions of the government, calling the situation an "abuse of power" rather than a pursuit of justice. He stressed that the government had effectively "disappeared" García into a foreign prison, contravening a court order, and demanded a fair trial before the immigration judge who previously evaluated his case.

A decade ago, García entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager and was arrested in Maryland in 2019, when federal immigration authorities detained him after a raid with three other men. However, he was granted protection from deportation by an immigration judge due to credible fears of gang violence should he return to El Salvador.

The circumstances of his deportation on March 15 arose amid a broader crackdown on immigration by the Trump administration, which invoked the Alien Enemies Act to justify his removal, alleging threats that García posed due to gang affiliations. While government representatives initially described García's deportation as an "administrative error," months of lobbying and political pressure ensued, culminating in his return to the U.S.

Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who demanded to see García while he was in El Salvador, emphasized that the primary concern lies in protecting constitutional rights for all individuals. As he returns to the U.S., García will make an initial court appearance in Tennessee, where the government seeks to preemptively detain him, citing potential risks to public safety and possible flight.