All posts tagged: Abrego

Kilmar Abrego Garcia charges dropped, judge says Trump DOJ case vindictive

Kilmar Abrego Garcia charges dropped, judge says Trump DOJ case vindictive

Published by Sam Flores

Kilmar Abrego Garcia leaves a check-in at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office the day after a federal judge ordered his release from a detention in Pennsylvania, on Dec. 12, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images A federal judge in Tennessee on Friday dismissed human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant whose mistaken deportation by the Trump administration became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled that the Justice Department’s prosecution of Abrego Garcia was “vindictive,” finding that the government would not have brought the case had he not challenged his deportation. “Then-Attorney General Robert H. Jackson warned his fellow prosecutors long ago of the danger of picking the person first and the crime second,” Crenshaw wrote at the top of the 32-page ruling. “That is the situation here.” The DOJ plans to appeal, saying in a statement that “another activist judge has placed politics above public safety. The judge’s order is wrong and dangerous, and we will …

Judge dismisses criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia in human trafficking case

Judge dismisses criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia in human trafficking case

Published by Sam Flores

A federal judge in Tennessee dismissed the criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Friday, finding that the investigation into his alleged involvement with human trafficking was “tainted.” Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. He said the probe was only launched to justify the government’s decision to remove him to El Salvador. “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,” U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw wrote in his decision. Prosecutors in the Middle District of Tennessee were investigating him with the support of the Department of Justice in Washington. After Abrego was deported to El Salvador last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration had to work to bring him back. He was eventually returned to the U.S. and was immediately hit with human smuggling charges, based on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. He pleaded not guilty. Body camera video from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows …

Prosecutor says he knew charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia would likely be seen as vindictive

Prosecutor says he knew charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia would likely be seen as vindictive

Published by Sam Flores

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal prosecutor testified Thursday that he knew an indictment he brought against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last year, would most likely be viewed by the public as “vindictive” and “selective.” “I knew we were maybe going to be in a courtroom like this,” McGuire told U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw about his decision to bring the human smuggling charges against Abrego. “I wanted to be the person in this chair, and not any of my colleagues.” Attorneys for Abrego appeared before Crenshaw in Tennessee on Thursday to argue that the human smuggling charges should be thrown out. Crenshaw did not rule from the bench and has asked to hear more on the issue. Abrego and his attorneys claim the criminal prosecution is vindictive, pushed by officials from the Trump administration to punish him after they were forced to bring him back to the U.S. Robert McGuire, who was acting U.S. attorney when Abrego was charged, said Thursday that he knew the decision to indict Abrego …

Judge Orders ICE Not To Re-Detain Abrego Garcia

Judge Orders ICE Not To Re-Detain Abrego Garcia

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times, A federal judge has blocked U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) from re-arresting Kilmar Abrego Garcia, one of the men at the center of the Trump administration’s deportation battles. The Salvadoran national’s case attracted attention across the country, including widespread protests, after the federal government detained him in March 2025 and shipped him to El Salvador’s maximum security prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center, along with an airplane full of other deportees. He was later returned to the United States, where he has had long-running legal battles with the administration. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who ordered the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return last year, ruled on Feb. 17 that he cannot be deported again because the federal government has not presented a feasible plan for removing him from the country. The judge said that despite releasing Abrego Garcia, the government appeared to be making plans to re-detain him, so Abrego Garcia filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent being re-detained. The court …

Kilmar Abrego Garcia 1st in trend of mistaken deportations : NPR

Kilmar Abrego Garcia 1st in trend of mistaken deportations : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Kilmar Abrego Garcia enters a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in August 2025 in Baltimore after he was returned to the U.S. from El Salvador. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia captured national headlines last year as part of a wave of criticism against the second Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement. It was the speed of his deportation — from working in Maryland one week, to getting whisked off to a notorious prison in El Salvador the next. But it was also because it was a mistake: something a government lawyer admitted in court. Immigration lawyers said Abrego Garcia’s landmark case highlights the challenges with the speed and scale of the Trump administration’s goal of mass deportations. “We really thought this was going to be one of a kind,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of Abrego Garcia’s lawyers. “If anything, it was just the tip of the spear. There have been countless illegal deportation cases since then. If anything, the problem is getting worse …