Wrongfully Deported MD Man Returning To US From El Salvador To Face Criminal Charges

GREENBELT, MD — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March, has returned to the United States to face criminal charges for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the country, according to reports from ABC News and The Associated Press.

An indictment filed under seal in federal court last month claims Abrego Garcia, a Beltsville resident who is married to a U.S. citizen, participated in a years-long conspiracy to haul undocumented migrants from Texas to other parts of the country, ABC News reported, citing sources briefed on the indictment.

The conspiracy spanned nearly a decade, the report said, and involved thousands of non-citizens from Mexico and Central America. Sources claimed some of those transported include members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13.

He is expected to be prosecuted in the U.S. and, if convicted, will be returned to his home country in El Salvador at the conclusion of the case, officials said Friday.

“This is what American justice looks like,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday in announcing the return of Abrego Garcia and the criminal charges.

The charges stem from a 2022 vehicle stop in which the Tennessee Highway Patrol suspected Abrego Garcia of human trafficking. A report released by the Department of Homeland Security in April states that none of the people in the vehicle had luggage, while they listed the same address as Abrego Garcia.

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Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime, while the officers allowed him to drive on with only a warning about an expired driver’s license, according to the DHS report. The report said he was traveling from Texas to Maryland, via Missouri, to bring in people to perform construction work.

History Linked To Criminal Charges, Denials

In response to the report’s release in April, Abrego Garcia’s wife said in a statement that he sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites, “so it’s entirely plausible he would have been pulled over while driving with others in the vehicle. He was not charged with any crime or cited for any wrongdoing.”

Authorities in Tennessee released video of a 2022 traffic stop last month. The body-camera footage shows a calm and friendly exchange between officers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Officers then discussed among themselves their suspicions of human trafficking because nine people were traveling without luggage. One of the officers said, “He’s hauling these people for money.” Another said he had $1,400 in an envelope.

An attorney for Abrego Garcia, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said in a statement after the footage’s release in May that he saw no evidence of a crime in the released footage.

“But the point is not the traffic stop — it’s that Mr. Abrego Garcia deserves his day in court,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who met with Abrego Garcia when he traveled to El Salvador in April, released a statement after learning Abrego Garcia would return to the United States.

"After months of ignoring our Constitution, it seems the Trump Admin has relented to our demands for compliance with court orders and due process for Kilmar Abrego Garcia," Van Hollen said. "This has never been about the man—it’s about his constitutional rights & the rights of all."

The allegations are the latest development in the two months since Abrego Garcia was taken to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center. His case has become a national flashpoint as President Donald Trump follows up on his campaign promises of mass deportations.

According to his attorneys, Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador when he was 16 years old to escape gang violence. He was arrested in March 2019 while soliciting work outside a Home Depot, and he was later ordered deported after a confidential informant told police he was a member of the MS-13 gang.

Legal Fight For Due Process

Abrego Garcia appealed the claim and was eventually granted “withholding from removal” status in October 2019 by an immigration judge, according to court documents.

On March 12, Abrego Garcia was pulled over by ICE officers after picking up his son from daycare. The officer told Abrego Garcia that his "status had changed" before placing him in handcuffs and detaining him, according to court documents.

Trump officials later described the mistake as “an administrative error” but continue to insist that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 in the United States. Abrego Garcia was not previously charged with a crime and has denied the allegations, which include being a member of MS-13 in Long Island, New York, where he has never lived.

In March, Abrego Garcia’s wife filed a lawsuit calling for his return, and U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered it on April 4. Less than a week later, the Supreme Court also ruled that the administration must "facilitate" his return to the United States.

Despite the order, federal officials have continued to balk at his possible return, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said “there is no scenario where Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again.”

Late last month, the Trump administration asked a federal judge to dismiss Abrego Garcia's lawsuit, claiming that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction in the case because he is no longer in the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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