Bondi Bends on Abrego Garcia
The Trump Administration brought back Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. on Friday, and the shame is that it took so long. The Supreme Court asked the executive branch in April to 'facilitate' his return, but the Administration looked hard for an excuse not to do it. Yet now he's back to face criminal charges, and a needless brawl with the judiciary is avoided. Was that so hard?
As we noted at the time, returning Mr. Abrego Garcia to the U.S. didn't mean he couldn't be deported again with legal means. He had entered the country illegally. On Friday Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for sending Mr. Abrego Garcia back. The White House had previously pretended that it couldn't return him because Mr. Bukele wouldn't oblige. But on Friday Mr. Bukele said of course he would send him back if the U.S. requested.
The Administration seems to have looked far and wide to charge Mr. Abrego Garcio with some crime and now alleges that he transported illegal aliens for profit. He will face two counts in federal court in Tennessee for allegedly helping to shuttle illegal immigrants between Texas and Maryland more than 100 times. Mr. Abrego Garcia 'played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring,' Ms. Bondi said. 'They found this was his full time job, not a contractor.'
If convicted, he'll serve his sentence in the U.S. and then be deported to El Salvador. But he'll have due process, unlike in his deportation that an Administration official had called a 'administrative error.' Prosecutors will also have to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury.
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