Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvdoran illegal immigrant mistakenly deported to El Salvador, pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges for alleged human trafficking and conspiracy.
Garcia was indicted by a federal grand jury on the charges last month after he was deported to El Salvador and put into a prison in that country meant for suspected gang members. His return to the U.S. on human trafficking charges came after an extended legal fight over his deportation and the Trump administration’s effort to keep him in El Salvador.
Garcia was an alleged member of MS-13 who the Trump administration sent to El Salvador despite a court order instructing the federal government to send him to any other nation, out of fear of gang retaliation in his home country.
The Supreme Court previously ordered the Trump administration to return him to face proper legal proceedings after Garcia’s case made national news. In April, Garcia’s fate appeared to be sealed when Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele said he would not let him go back to the U.S., a move Trump appeared sympathetic to. But the administration appears to have complied with the Supreme Court’s order in order to have Garcia prosecuted.
Prosecutors have accused Garcia of waging a years-long conspiracy to transport thousands of illegal immigrants from Texas to other parts of the country, including members of the MS-13 gang. The charges against Garcia are largely based on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee where he had multiple unidentified men in his car who Garcia claimed were working in construction in St. Louis. The car lacked luggage and equipment, and featured an installed third row of seating for extra passengers. The vehicle’s license plate tracking shows it had been in the Houston, Texas area but not St. Louis.
“They found this was his full-time job. Not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found, smuggling people throughout our country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
His attorneys have disputed allegations of ties to MS-13 based on claims by a confidential informant. Garcia’s lawyers have also sought to keep him out of federal custody until trial and federal prosecutors have responded by arguing Garcia could potentially flee if freed from custody.
Garcia’s case became part of a national debate on the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and long-stated plans to launch the most prolific mass deportation operation in American history. His case also raised questions about due process rights and the abuse of asylum law by illegal immigrants.
Democrats have made Garcia out to be a hero despite the alleged human trafficking and gang ties, and past allegations from his wife of domestic abuse. At the time he was deported, Garcia was living in Maryland with his family.