Kilmar Ábrego García, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, has been brought back to face federal criminal charges.
According to BBC, the 29-year-old man who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March has been returned to face prosecution on two federal criminal charges.
US President Donald Trump has been in an intense standoff with the federal judiciary over the deportation after the court ordered the government to “facilitate” his return.
Allegation on Kilmar Ábrego García
García has been charged with two criminal counts in the Middle District of Tennessee. One count of conspiracy to transport aliens and a second count of unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens.
The indictment unveiled on Friday afternoon accused him and others of partaking in a conspiracy in recent years in which they “knowingly and unlawfully transported thousands of undocumented aliens who had no authorisation to be present in the United States and many of whom were MS-13 members and associates.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said that El Salvador agreed to release García after the US presented an arrest warrant. He alleged that the wrongly deported man played a "significant role" in an alien smuggling ring, bringing thousands of illegal immigrants to the US.
Meanwhile, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, has denied the charges and accused the federal government of “playing games” with the court.
He told CNN, The government disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order. Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they’re bringing him back, not to correct their error but to prosecute him.”
“This shows that they were playing games with the court all along. Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you’re punished, not after. This is an abuse of power, not justice,” he added.
Notably, as per the detention motion, García was expected to make his first appearance at a Tennessee court on Friday, where the US will seek his partial detention until his trial, claiming that he poses a danger to the community and a serious risk of flight.
