These Trump Officials Insisted Kilmar Abrego Garcia Wouldn't Be Brought Back To The U.S.

Forbes

a day ago

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whom the Trump administration mistakenly deported to El Salvador—but repeatedly insisted would not be brought back—has returned to U.S. after all after the Trump administration indicted him on charges of transporting undocumented immigrants, after repeatedly claiming without evidence he belonged to gang MS-13.
A member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus holds a picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia during a news ... More conference on April 9 in Washington, DC.
Abrego Garcia is now back in the U.S., Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed at a press conference Friday, after a federal grand jury indicted him on two criminal charges for conspiracy to transport aliens and unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens.
He has been indicted based on allegations that he participated in a years-long scheme to transport undocumented migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas to interior parts of the U.S., according to a court filing made public on Friday, with Bondi claiming the alleged activities were Abrego Garcia's 'full-time job.'
The indictment also makes more serious allegations against Abrego Garcia, including that he was a member of MS-13, trafficked firearms and narcotics, and allegedly abused women who were being transported, but he was not charged based on any of those allegations, and Bondi said Friday they are so far just allegations made by other co-conspirators in the case.
Abrego Garcia's return comes after the Trump administration had repeatedly insisted it could not bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.—despite an order from the Supreme Court to 'facilitate' his return—claiming the immigrant was out of the government's jurisdiction now that he was in El Salvador.
Bondi told reporters Friday that El Salvador's government had allowed Abrego Garcia to return to the country, despite previous claims from President Nayib Bukele that he could not have the man returned.
Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March despite a 2019 court ruling prohibiting the government from deporting him there due to fears of persecution, and while the Trump administration admitted in court filings that the man's deportation was an 'administrative error,' the government has dug its heels in on the deportation, claiming Abrego Garcia is a 'criminal' whose deportation was warranted.
The Trump administration insisted prior to Abrego Garcia's indictment he would not be brought back to the United States. Bondi said in April that Abrego Garcia was 'not coming back to our country," and said that if Bukele returned him, the U.S. would send him back to El Salvador. (Bukele said days prior to Bondi's comment he did not have the authority to return him.) Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during a March testimony to Congress that Abrego Garcia 'will never' return to the U.S., saying if 'he were to come back to this country, he would be immediately removed again.' Similarly, White House's immigration lead, Stephen Miller, said in an Oval Office meeting with Trump that if Bukele returned Abrego Garcia, 'he would be deported the second time to El Salvador," and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, 'There is never going to be a world in which this is an individual who is going to live a peaceful life in Maryland.'
Abrego Garcia will now be prosecuted in the U.S. for his criminal charges, and it's unclear how long that could take. Bondi said Friday that Abrego Garcia will return to El Salvador after his prosecution is over and he finishes serving any potential sentence, if convicted.
The indictment alleges Abrego Garcia and other alleged co-conspirators 'conspired to bring undocumented aliens to the U.S. from countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and elsewhere,' despite knowing they were undocumented. Abrego Garcia allegedly 'knowingly and unlawfully' transported 'thousands' of undocumented migrants, charging them money for the transportation, the indictment alleges, and the government claims Abrego Garcia and his co-conspirators worked with known criminal groups including MS-13. The indictment also alleges Abrego Garcia would sometimes transport firearms and narcotics for resale in Maryland, and that he and his co-conspirators would intentionally change their routes and use cover stories to evade detection. Abrego Garcia and his co-conspirators allegedly transported people using 'unsafe' methods, such as transporting children in the 'floorboards of vehicles.' The indictment also details an alleged instance in which Abrego Garcia and others were pulled over by law enforcement in Tennessee, and Abrego Garcia allegedly lied and said they were traveling from working on a construction job in St. Louis.
Abrego Garcia is a father of three who lived with his wife and children in Maryland before being deported in March. He first entered the U.S. illegally at age 16 in 2012, and had resided in the country since, going on to marry a U.S. citizen. In 2019, Abrego Garcia was arrested in the parking lot of a Home Depot on allegations that he and other people were 'loitering,' and law enforcement accused him of being a member of MS-13, citing the fact he was wearing Chicago Bulls clothing. Abrego Garcia and his family have denied that he has any associations with the gang, and experts cited by the BBC have cast doubt on the Trump administration's evidence tying him to MS-13. He was not charged at the time with any crimes. A judge granted Abrego Garcia 'withholding of removal' in 2019, which gave him temporary protections from deportation and work authorization in the U.S., and prohibited the government from deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador specifically, given the possibility he could face gang violence if he returned. Abrego Garcia was then pulled over by immigration enforcement officials on March 12 and subsequently detained and sent to El Salvador, prompting a legal battle over his removal that had not yet been resolved as of his reported return to the U.S.