a day ago
Kilmar Abrego Garcia enters not guilty pleas while federal judge defers decision on his release
Supporters of Kilmar Abrego Garcia protest outside the Fred D. Thompson Federal Courthouse in Nashville on June 13 before Abrego Garcia's arraignment on federal charges. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wrongful deportation to an El Salvador prison sparked national debate over Trump administration immigration crackdowns, entered not guilty pleas on Friday to two federal human smuggling charges.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit and seated next to attorneys with the federal public defender's office, Abrego Garcia spoke only once, through a translator. 'I understand,' he said in response to the judge's reading of the charges.
The charges against Abrego Garcia, 29, are 'conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain' and 'unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain.'
Friday's hearing, in a downtown Nashville federal courtroom, turned primarily on the question of whether Abrego Garcia may be denied the opportunity to be released from jail pending trial.
Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes said she would take the matter under advisement. She said she will issue a written ruling on the prosecution's motion to keep Abrego Garcia detained 'sooner rather than later.'
Advocacy organizations warn 'we are all Kilmar'; pledge to fight for immigrant rights
The criminal charges stem from a federal investigation opened into a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop.
Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding with nine Hispanic men in the back of a Chevrolet Suburban. Abrego Garcia was not arrested or charged in the incident.
But a recent Department of Homeland Security investigation opened into the three-year-old stop gave rise to the charges he now faces, testimony in court Friday revealed.
The investigation relied on cooperating witnesses, analysis of license plate readers to track Abrego Garcia's movements and a review of the Tennessee traffic stop evidence.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire alleged that Abrego Garcia was a danger to the community and a member of the MS-13 gang who, for nine years, engaged in an illegal smuggling operation that included transporting children, gang members and guns. Abrego Garcia has not been charged with gun crimes or crimes involving child victims.
Attorneys for Abrego Garcia said the government's case should be looked at through a 'lens of suspicion and skepticism' and questioned why it took three years to bring.
Federal prosecutors in Nashville ask judge to keep Abrego Garcia detained until trial
'The United States government from D.C. to Tennessee has exaggerated' allegations against Abrego Garcia, said Dumaka Shabazz, one of Abrego Garcia's public defenders.
'This is a house of cards built on the unverified credibility of unreliable corroborators,' he said. 'The only reason they're calling him dangerous now is to justify denying him due process and subjecting him to cruel and inhuman punishment they have to cover up,' said Shabazz, referencing Abrego Garcia's imprisonment for nearly three months in a notorious Salvadoran prison.
McGuire countered that the charges against Abrego Garcia arose from following the facts. 'Since I've learned about this case, all I've tried to do is the right thing,' he said. 'The facts are I didn't … whip up witnesses and tell them to commit perjury.'
'I understand there are strong feelings about this case on both sides,' he said.
The day-long hearing focused on the government's arguments to detain Abrego Garcia until trial.
Evidence that minors were present, and potentially placed at risk during Abrego Garcia's alleged illegal acts could trigger legal justification for detaining Abrego Garcia and prosecutors presented allegations involving the safety of minors. Abrego Garcia has not been charged with crimes related to minor victims.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia's wife shares message ahead of hearing: 'Continue fighting … God is with us'
But prosecutors said a Department of Homeland Security investigation into the circumstances behind the 2022 traffic stop uncovered evidence that Abrego Garcia transported minor children, including his own, in part to provide cover for his allegedly illegal activities.
Abrego Garcia, McGuire alleged, acted as the driver in a human smuggling operation that involved transporting migrants already in the country illegally to different points around the nation over a nine-year period.
McGuire cited a witness who said that Abrego Garcia engaged in sexual, but not physical, exchanges with her several years ago when she was a teen and referenced a list of passengers the Tennessee Highway Patrol obtained during the 2022 traffic stop. One of the passengers listed his age as 15.
'Migrant transportation is inherently dangerous,' McGuire said. 'The defendant transported his own children in an unsafe manner.'
McGuire argued that Abrego Garcia is a flight risk, and that his newfound notoriety could give him access to resources provided by those opposed to Trump administration immigration policies.
Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, who presided over the case, called the flight risk argument largely 'academic.'
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arraignment in Nashville
Immigration officials have already placed a hold on Abrego Garcia, giving them the authority to take immediate custody should he be released from jail, she noted.
The sole witness at Friday's hearing was Peter Joseph, a Department of Homeland Security special agent who said he was first assigned to investigate Abrego Garcia on April 28, three years after the Tennessee traffic stop.
By then, Abrego Garcia was incarcerated inside the Center for Terrorism Confinement prison in El Salvador. The Supreme Court had, on April 10, ordered the federal government to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the United States.
Joseph testified that he had reviewed License Plate Reader software in multiple states that contradicted Abrego Garcia's statements about his movements to troopers at the time of the Tennessee traffic stop.
He also testified that five confidential witnesses, including co-conspirators in the alleged years-long human smuggling operation, had implicated Abrego Garcia in the scheme.
Richard Tennant, another of Abrego Garcia's defense attorneys, noted that some of the cooperating witnesses have their own liberty at stake.
Three of the witnesses entered cooperation deals that could aid their ongoing criminal and immigration cases. Four of the five witnesses are from the same family, testimony revealed.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
