Independent Report – Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was recently returned to the United States after being wrongfully deported to his home country of El Salvador has pleaded not guilty to charges related to migrant smuggling. On Friday, Abrego Garcia, 29 years old, appeared in a court hearing in Nashville, Tennessee, where his lawyer. William Allensworth, formally entered the plea on his behalf. During the hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, Abrego Garcia is also expected to oppose the government’s request to keep him detained while awaiting trial.
The Trump administration has presented Abrego Garcia’s indictment as proof of its strong stance against illegal immigration. Prior to the public unveiling of the charges on June 5, officials claimed Abrego Garcia was connected to the violent gang MS-13 and had stated they would not bring him back to the U.S. However, the Justice Department’s decision to return him to face legal proceedings offers the administration a way to ease tensions with the courts. Which had ordered that he be allowed to return after being deported in error.
Critics of the administration argue that the quick deportation without a proper hearing showed a disregard for due process. Due process is a fundamental legal principle that ensures all people, whether citizens or not, have the right to challenge government actions through the courts. Judge Holmes reminded Abrego Garcia of this principle. Stating that he is presumed innocent and it is the government’s responsibility to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt during the trial.
The criminal case now gives Abrego Garcia the opportunity to defend himself against the accusations brought by a grand jury indictment. Which was issued secretly on May 21. Despite this legal process, his attorneys maintain that the wrongful deportation remains a serious error on the part of the Trump administration. And also returning him to face charges does not erase that mistake.
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According to the indictment, Abrego Garcia allegedly participated in a smuggling ring with at least five co-conspirators. This group is accused of bringing immigrants into the United States illegally. Then transporting them from the U.S.-Mexico border to various locations across the country. The charges claim that Abrego Garcia frequently picked up migrants in Houston and made over 100 trips between Texas and Maryland from 2016 to 2025. Additionally, he faces allegations of transporting firearms and drugs as part of this operation.
Prosecutors have stated that Abrego Garcia, who lives in Maryland and has a wife and young child who are U.S. citizens. She could face up to 10 years in prison for each migrant he is found guilty of smuggling. This could potentially amount to a life sentence if he is convicted on all counts. They are pushing for him to be detained, arguing that the risk of a long prison term might motivate him to flee. Prosecutors also pointed to other serious allegations, such as involvement in the murder of a rival gang member’s mother in El Salvador and solicitation of child pornography. However, these particular accusations are not included in the current indictment.
Abrego Garcia’s defense team has strongly denied these charges and described them as “fantastical.” They also argue that he should not be considered a flight risk.
The wrongful deportation of Abrego Garcia took place on March 15. Despite a 2019 ruling by an immigration court that protected him from being sent back to El Salvador. The court had decided that returning him to his home country could expose him to persecution by gangs. Government officials later called his deportation an “administrative error.”
In a related civil case, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, based in Greenbelt, Maryland, is investigating whether the Trump administration violated her order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld Judge Xinis’s order. Lawyers for Abrego Garcia are requesting that officials in the administration be held in contempt of court. And also face fines for failing to provide information about the steps they took to comply with the order.
The Trump administration argues that Judge Xinis should end her investigation because they complied with the order by deciding. To bring Abrego Garcia back to face criminal charges. However, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers insist that true compliance requires his immigration case to be handled. As it would have been if he had never been deported.
In another case highlighting the administration’s tough immigration policies, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark, New Jersey, recently ordered the release of Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil, a detained migrant and prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. He had been held by the government on the grounds that his presence was harmful to U.S. foreign policy. Judge Farbiarz ruled that the government could no longer justify his detention on those grounds.
The cases of Abrego Garcia and Khalil illustrate ongoing legal battles over immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. They also emphasize the importance of upholding legal protections and due process for individuals caught in the complex U.S. immigration system.
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