Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national previously deported from the United States, is reportedly en route back to the U.S. to face criminal charges related to human smuggling, according to sources speaking with ABC News.
This development marks a significant turning point in a case that has garnered considerable attention and sparked political advocacy.
Abrego Garcia, who has been accused of domestic abuse by his wife and is suspected of MS-13 gang affiliation, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in March and subsequently deported to El Salvador. Upon his return to his home country, he was initially transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison designed for gang members.
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His deportation, however, sparked outrage among Democrats, who argued it should not have occurred given his previous withholding of removal protection from an immigration judge. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador to advocate for Abrego Garcia’s return, a cause later championed by a delegation of House Democrats.
The Trump administration, conversely, defended the deportation, citing local law enforcement suspicions in Maryland of his MS-13 gang membership and prior domestic abuse accusations from his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura.
The human smuggling charges stem from a 2022 incident on a Tennessee highway where Abrego Garcia was pulled over. The Tennessee Highway Patrol discovered he was transporting eight passengers with no apparent luggage, leading to suspicions of human smuggling.
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The vehicle Abrego Garcia was driving at the time reportedly belonged to Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, an undocumented immigrant who was sentenced to prison for human smuggling in 2020.
The Department of Homeland Security has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding Abrego Garcia’s return and the pending charges. This case continues to highlight the complex interplay of immigration policy, criminal justice, and political advocacy.
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