Trump Is Bringing Kilmar Abrego Garcia Back—but It's Not All Good
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongfully deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, is back in the United States to face criminal charges alleging that he transported undocumented immigrants around the country, the attorney general announced Friday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed in a press conference that Abrego Garcia had landed back in the U.S., after the government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant for him. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele had initially balked at the idea that he would ever return Abrego Garcia, saying in April that he would not 'smuggle' a 'terrorist' back into the U.S.
Bondi alleged that Abrego Garcia had a 'significant role' in a smuggling ring that moved people, as well as firearms and narcotics, and said that the illegal transport of undocumented immigrants was his 'full-time job.'
'This is what American justice looks like,' Bondi said, seemingly referring to due process, which she conveniently ignored for the last three months. Bondi said that if Abrego Garcia is convicted, the government plans to return him to El Salvador after he completes his sentence, once again violating a judge's order preventing his removal.
Bondi also mentioned a number of accusations from his alleged co-conspirators that were not included in the indictment. She claimed that co-conspirators had alleged Abrego Garcia had 'abused' women 'under his control,' while another had said he'd solicited nude images from minors, and yet another said he had played a role in a murder.
The Trump administration repeatedly insisted that there was no way to return Abrego Garcia, even though he had been deported as the result of an 'administrative error,' according to one ICE official. Instead of facilitating his safe return, as ordered to do by the Supreme Court, administration officials set about smearing him as a dangerous 'convicted' criminal and MS-13 gang member despite their thin evidence.
But last month, the government filed a two-count indictment under seal in Tennessee alleging that Abrego Garcia was involved in a yearslong conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants from Texas.
The government has been quietly investigating a 2022 traffic stop, where Abrego Garcia was pulled over by Tennessee Highway Patrol for speeding and discovered to have eight passengers in the car. All of the men were Hispanic, and none possessed identification. Abrego Garcia told the officers they were working construction in Missouri, and he was let off with a warning.
The government spoke with a man named Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes in Alabama, who is currently serving a 30-month sentence for illegally reentering the country following a felony conviction for illegal transportation of undocumented immigrants. After being granted limited immunity, Hernandez-Reyes said that he'd met Abrego Garcia in Baltimore, and claimed to have hired him multiple times to help move undocumented immigrants across the country, ABC News reported.
While Abrego Garcia's return demonstrates yet again that Donald Trump's tough talk is subject to rollbacks, it has no tangible ramifications for the hundreds of other people subject to hasty and inhumane removals by the Trump administration. It may appear to be a positive step toward undocumented immigrants receiving due process, but that will have to be seen in court.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had previously claimed that Abrego Garcia was 'engaged in human trafficking' without offering any evidence to support that assertion. She and other members of the Trump administration have fought hard to oppose the U.S. judicial system, which has overwhelmingly opposed Abrego Garcia's removal.
This story has been updated.
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The Hill
35 minutes ago
- The Hill
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