Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to U.S. to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee
The Maryland resident, who was illegally deported to El Salvador in March, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts: conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gains and the unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gains, according to a copy of the indictment obtained by NBC News. ABC News first reported the indictment.
A judge in 2019 had ordered Abrego Garcia not to be removed to El Salvador, due to the potential persecution the Salvadoran native could face there.
Nonetheless, in March, federal officials detained Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland, and flew him and others to a notorious prison in El Salvador, where he and others have been held without having been convicted of, or charged with, any crime. (Others have brought separate litigation.)
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to facilitate his return, and the Supreme Court largely upheld her order on April 10, ruling that it 'properly requires the Government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.' The justices noted that the government said his removal to that country 'was the result of an 'administrative error.''
Yet, the government still resisted returning him. During further litigation before Xinis after the Supreme Court ruling, the Obama-appointed judge criticized officials' 'continued mischaracterization' of the high court command, accusing them of acting in 'bad faith.'
The government has argued that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, which it has deemed a foreign terrorist organization. Addressing that accusation during the litigation, Reagan-appointed appellate Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote, 'Perhaps, but perhaps not. Regardless, he is still entitled to due process.'
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
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