Judge Dismisses Human Smuggling Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

A federal judge in Tennessee dismissed criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Friday, ruling that the prosecution was vindictive. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw found that the investigation into Abrego Garcia’s alleged involvement in human smuggling was reopened only after he successfully challenged his deportation to El Salvador, calling the probe “tainted.”

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man, was charged with human smuggling related to a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee where nine passengers were found in his vehicle. He pleaded not guilty. An immigration judge had barred his deportation to El Salvador in 2019 due to threats from gangs in his home country, but he was mistakenly deported last year. After Abrego Garcia filed a civil lawsuit challenging his removal, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S., which occurred months later.

Judge Crenshaw wrote, “The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution.” He noted the investigation had been closed after the 2022 traffic stop and was only reopened after Abrego Garcia’s legal victory. The judge found insufficient evidence of “actual vindictiveness” but ruled that the government failed to rebut the “presumption of vindictiveness,” a legal standard that led to dismissal.

Crenshaw criticized then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, now acting attorney general, stating that Blanche initiated the investigation to implicate Abrego in order to justify the Executive Branch’s decision to remove him to El Salvador. The judge also cited Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh’s close oversight of the prosecution, which undermined claims that the U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, Robert McGuire, acted independently.

McGuire testified that he decided to prosecute based on evidence but acknowledged the indictment came years after the traffic stop. Internal Justice Department emails revealed significant interest in charging Abrego Garcia after his deportation challenge, with one email labeling the case a “top priority.”

Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Sean Hecker, called his client “a victim of a politicized, vindictive White House and its lawyers at what used to be an independent Justice Department,” expressing relief that he is now free. The Justice Department criticized the ruling, calling it “wrong and dangerous” and said it will appeal.

Abrego Garcia, who immigrated illegally as a teenager, has lived in Maryland for years under ICE supervision. He is married to an American woman and has a child. After his release from pretrial detention in Tennessee, he was re-detained by immigration officials before a Maryland judge ordered his release. The Trump administration has attempted to deport him to third countries, including Liberia. Costa Rica has publicly expressed willingness to accept him and provide asylum.

The dismissal of the charges also ended conditions of Abrego Garcia’s pretrial release. Abrego Garcia has expressed willingness to go to Costa Rica, and the case has drawn international attention. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, said the dismissal “made clear what we have long known: the Department of Justice was engaged in a vindictive prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. As the judge stated, this was a blatant ‘abuse of prosecutorial power’ — one that should disturb all Americans.”