A man wrongly deported to El Salvador has been returned to the United States to face criminal charges.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is accused of participating in what the Trump administration has described as a major human smuggling operation in which immigrants were illegally brought into the country.
His unexpected return from El Salvador was the latest chapter in a saga that has led to months of conflict between Trump administration officials and the judiciary over a deportation that authorities initially acknowledged was wrong but then continued to insist was right, ignoring judges' orders to return him to the United States.
The turn of events came after U.S. authorities served El Salvador President Nayib Bukele with an arrest warrant on federal charges in Tennessee, accusing Abrego Garcia of playing a key role in smuggling immigrants into the country for money. He is expected to be prosecuted in the U.S. and, if convicted, sent back to his home country of El Salvador after the case is resolved, officials said.
“This is what American justice looks like,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as she announced Abrego Garcia's return and the grand jury indictment.
Abrego Garcia's lawyers described the case as “baseless.”
“It will be difficult for a jury to look at the evidence and find that this metal worker is the leader of an international MS-13 smuggling conspiracy,” said defense attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.
Federal Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville, Tennessee, ordered Abrego Garcia to remain in custody until at least next Friday, when he will face an arraignment and detention hearing.
Abrego Garcia appeared in court wearing a white, short-sleeved button-down shirt. When asked if he understood the charges, he told the judge through an interpreter: “Yes. I understand.”
Democrats and immigrant rights groups have pushed for Abrego Garcia’s release, and several politicians, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, where Abrego Garcia lived for many years, have even traveled to El Salvador to visit him. A federal judge ordered his return in April, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal, ordering the government to work toward his return.
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Sourse: breakingnews.ie
