DOJ Seeks to Restore Criminal Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The Justice Department filed a brief urging a federal appellate court to reinstate criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in 2023. A Tennessee district judge had dismissed the indictment, stating that the prosecution appeared to be motivated by retaliation after Garcia successfully sued over his removal.

In his ruling, Judge Crenshaw wrote that the evidence showed an "abuse of prosecuting power" and that the government had closed its investigation of a November 2022 traffic stop until Garcia’s lawsuit forced the case to be reopened.

Garcia, who was detained in March 2023, was deported during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement push. Officials later acknowledged the removal resulted from a clerical error, and a court ordered his return to the United States after finding the deportation lacked legal justification.

The DOJ’s appeal argues that the charges should proceed regardless of the prior deportation dispute, contending that the case merits prosecution on its own merits.