For months, deported illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia has become the face of the left's anti-border enforcement movement. The alleged gang member and human trafficker has been glossed over by the press as a "Maryland father" despite evidence of a violent past, including domestic violence against his wife. At the same time, Democrat politicians, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, actually traveled to El Salvador to gaze lovingly into his eyes.
There's also been a huge legal battle surrounding Abrego Garcia, with a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to "facilitate" his return. Until now, that hasn't amounted to much, given that he was under the jurisdiction of El Salvadoran authorities in his own country. That just changed, though. Abrego Garcia is headed home, but with a twist: He'll be charged with participating in a conspiracy to human traffic illegal immigrants from Texas to the rest of the country.
EXCLUSIVE: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, is on his way back to the U.S. to face criminal charges, sources tell ABC News. https://t.co/X1gCO4sB6q pic.twitter.com/Gb112lilWx
— ABC News (@ABC) June 6, 2025
The indictment was filed under seal last month, so this wasn't an overnight decision. Attorney General Pam Bondi had originally said Abrego Garcia "is not coming back" to the United States, but it appears the body cam footage of him allegedly trafficking illegal immigrants in Tennessee changed the calculus. This also gives the administration an out regarding the legal challenges surrounding Abrego Garcia's deportation. They no longer have to fight that battle if they go ahead and charge him with serious crimes, keeping him detained in the process.
For further context, some weeks before this news, Abrego Garcia's business partner, who is in jail on other charges, was given limited immunity for his cooperation. Whether the administration would seek to deport Abrego Garcia again if he's convicted or leave him in the U.S. to serve an assumed prison sentence isn't known. The answer to that question might be both.
This is a developing story.
Update: Here's the just-unsealed DOJ indictment:
BREAKING: @FoxNews has obtained the DOJ indictment of “Maryland man” Kilmar Abrego Garcia, charging him with 8 USC 1324 (federal human trafficking), alleging he smuggled illegal aliens in the U.S. from 2016-2015 as part of MS-13. It was filed on 5/21 and was just unsealed. pic.twitter.com/pFtlTrKnDj
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 6, 2025
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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