Kilmar Abrego García, a Maryland resident who was deported to El Salvador in March 2025 despite a 2019 court order protecting him from removal, is being returned to the United States to face federal human smuggling charges.
A federal grand jury in Tennessee has indicted Abrego García for allegedly participating in a nearly decade-long conspiracy to transport thousands of undocumented migrants from the Texas border to various parts of the U.S., including suspected MS-13 gang members.
The Hill has more, including a scathing reaction from Abrego García’s attorney:
“The government disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order. Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they’re bringing him back, not to correct their error but to prosecute him,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg told The Hill in a statement.
“This shows that they were playing games with the court all along. Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you’re punished, not after. This is an abuse of power, not justice. The government should put him on trial, yes—but in front of the same immigration judge who heard his case in 2019, which is the ordinary manner of doing things, “to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” as the Supreme Court ordered.”
The White House, Justice Department, and State Department did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding as he was driving from St. Louis to his home in Maryland, and video of the incident shows the officer skeptical of a van full of passengers without any luggage.
His deportation violated a 2019 immigration judge’s order granting him protection from removal due to the risk of persecution by gangs in El Salvador. Despite this, he was sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known for housing gang members. The Trump administration later admitted the deportation was an “administrative error.”
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s order directing the government to “facilitate” Abrego García’s return. However, the administration faced criticism for delays in complying with the order. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has since opened an investigation into the administration’s efforts, following allegations that officials obstructed his legal representation’s information requests.
The case has drawn national attention, highlighting ongoing legal and procedural controversies surrounding immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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I hope that he gets the dp and then nobody will ever have to worry about where he is any more.
Our judicial system is so screwed up it’s become dishonorable, it goes out of it’s way to protect people who have broken our laws, on the other hand, it persecutes it’s lawful citizens for minor offenses.