Kilmar Abrego Garcia asks Tennessee judge to dismiss his criminal case, calls it ‘vindictive’
Kilmar Abrego Garcia on the day of a hearing in his case, in Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S., December 22, 2025. REUTERS
Posted For: MugsMalone
Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia are set to appear before a federal judge in Tennessee on Thursday, seeking to have human smuggling charges against him dismissed.
Abrego Garcia’s case has drawn national attention amid ongoing debate over immigration policy. His legal team argues that the prosecution is retaliatory, alleging it was driven by officials in the administration of Donald Trump after the government was required to return him to the United States following his deportation.
Although Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador, a 2019 court order bars his removal to that country. At that time, an immigration judge determined he faced potential danger there from a gang that had threatened his family. Now 30, Abrego Garcia entered the United States unlawfully as a teenager. He has since built a life in Maryland, where he has lived and worked for years under the supervision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is married to a U.S. citizen and has a child.
After he was deported to El Salvador last year, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Trump administration was required to facilitate his return. He was ultimately brought back to the U.S., where he was charged with human smuggling in connection with a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty.
Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows what appears to be a calm interaction after Abrego Garcia was stopped for speeding. Nine passengers were in the vehicle, and officers discussed possible suspicions of smuggling among themselves. Ultimately, he was allowed to continue driving with a warning.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw has previously indicated there may be evidence suggesting the prosecution could be vindictive. In earlier proceedings, he noted that statements from Trump administration officials “raise cause for concern,” including remarks by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that appeared to link the charges to Abrego Garcia’s successful challenge of his deportation.
For months, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and federal prosecutors have disputed whether senior Justice Department officials, including Blanche, should be required to testify at the hearing and what internal communications must be disclosed. First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire has maintained that he independently decided to pursue the charges, arguing that the motives of other officials are not relevant.
However, in an order unsealed in late December, Judge Crenshaw wrote that some documents indicate McGuire may not have acted alone and that the decision to prosecute “may have been a joint decision” involving other Justice Department officials.
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