Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national whom the Trump administration‘s Justice Department acknowledged was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, was en route back to the United States on Friday to face charges for human smuggling.

Abrego Garcia was charged with two federal criminal counts for allegedly transporting illegal migrants within the U.S., according to a charging document filed in Tennessee federal court. The move marks a sharp twist in a case that has become a flashpoint in the legal fight over federal deportation powers and judicial oversight.

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The criminal defendant, deported to El Salvador earlier this year, had not previously been charged with a crime in the U.S., but Homeland Security officials have long alleged he is affiliated with MS-13. According to court records, he was stopped by police in Tennessee in 2022 during a traffic incident, where authorities suspected human smuggling.

“The grand jury found that over the past nine years of Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday.

Bondi noted that the Trump administration would ultimately seek to send him back once again to El Salvador.

The development follows a ruling Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who authorized the unsealing of court documents and approved a motion for sanctions against the administration. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys were given until June 11 to file their motion, which could result in penalties if Trump administration officials are found to have knowingly defied court orders.

DOJ lawyers called Abrego Garcia’s deportation an “administrative error,” stemming from a 2019 immigration judge’s order that barred his removal to El Salvador due to credible threats from rival gangs, but not barring his deportation elsewhere.

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Despite acknowledging the mistake, administration lawyers have repeatedly argued that they are not legally obligated to return him to the U.S. and are now seeking to dismiss his lawsuit.

The Washington Examiner did not immediately receive a response from Abrego Garcia’s legal counsel.

This is a developing story and will be updated.