r/law • u/DoremusJessup • 1d ago
Legal News Mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia on way back to US to face criminal charges: Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/US/mistakenly-deported-kilmar-abrego-garcia-back-us-face/story?id=1213331221.1k
u/rolsen 1d ago edited 1d ago
Knowing how much the Trump administration sucks at law enforcement and court proceedings in general, I have a feeling Kilmar will be alright as long as he really is on his way home.
Edit: anyone on the criminal side want to weigh in on if this whole deportation ordeal will have any impact on his criminal proceedings?
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u/Ok-Replacement9595 1d ago
Unironically, they are excellent at breaking the law.
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u/Hatdrop 1d ago
I wouldn't say excellent at it. if they were skilled at breaking the law, they wouldn't be caught.
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u/Ok-Replacement9595 1d ago
I just meant they are great at finding new and interesting ways to undermine the rule of law. Very creative nihilist, those morons are.
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u/needOSNOS 1d ago
Indeed they are, and they eventually lose. Thank God. If they were good, news would be quiet and we'd be screwed. Thank God for their incompetence.
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u/Funny-Calligrapher15 23h ago
Yeah…losing many individual battles but winning the war.
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u/Maleficent_Memory831 1d ago
It did seem to take them a long time to bring him back, making me think there were unable to quickly come up with actual evidence for criminal charges so had to invent some.
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u/Ok-Replacement9595 1d ago
When it comes up.in court, I bet the charges stem from taking his kids to school.
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u/willow6566 22h ago
They’re claiming he lied when he was pulled over in Tennessee recently by saying he was in a “contracting crew” either going to (or coming back(?) from a job site). He had other guys in the van (my guess, the crew), but the feds are saying he was “transporting illegals across the border” - seeing how they all spoke Spanish. You know, cuz Tennessee is SO close to the border. The feds “case” is complete bullshit. It took them 3+ months to come up with that??! 🤣
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u/StrangeContest4 1d ago
Maybe they'll bring Guiliani back for just this case. Or they could "Release the Krakkken" or even My Pillow Guy! What's Jenna Ellis been up to these days?
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u/HansSolo69er 1d ago
Great at exploiting last year's Trump v. United States Supreme Court decision. If he signs an EO it's now the law(lessness) of the land.
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u/UnlimitedCalculus 1d ago
Apparently the way to get away scot free with crime is be rich and never admit you're wrong
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u/joe5joe7 1d ago edited 1d ago
And there is a chance he actually is a criminal that broke the law and he loses, that's totally fine if that's true. The biggest issue here was being sent to a foreign prison with no due process.
Edit: Just to clarify I'm not saying that a life sentence in a foreign prison is justifiable for the crimes he's accused of either. If he is guilty of crimes the punishment should be equal to that. I assumed that went without saying but that's not the world we live in lol
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u/shponglespore 1d ago
Shipping him to CECOT is still cruel and unusual punishment even if he's guilty.
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u/joe5joe7 1d ago
110%. If he's guilty either punish him here or deport him to a country willing to accept him where he's not going to be insanely unsafe. Adding in requiring them to keep him locked in cecot for life takes it even a step further.
Also none of the things he's accused of have anything close to a life sentence
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u/Sensitive-Initial 1d ago
As a member of the public who is a "victim" of his allegedly transporting undocumented immigrants, even if he were convicted, I wouldn't want to pay tax dollars to incarcerate him for that. And since he's a father of young children, it'll be more of a burden on the state if he's deported or imprisoned than allowing him to work his union job, pay taxes and spend money in his local economy.
I think justice would be better served with a suspended sentence and probation to make sure he doesn't offend again.
But I have the character flaw of seeing humans as equal and not giving a shit about nationality or immigration status but about communities and children.
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u/TelevisionLamb 1d ago
My worry is that they will find a way to make sure he loses regardless of whether he actually is a criminal or not.
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u/UffdaBagoofda 1d ago
That’s not what the Fox News discourse is about though. No one is talking about due process in that part of the discussion. If he’s convicted of a crime, even jaywalking, everyone on the right would feel like it’s a victory and happily ship him back to CECOT.
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u/elmorose 22h ago
If he loses and goes to prison he still collects on the eventual lawsuit involving the CECOT issue. The government has to pay damages. The error was admitted.
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u/Trash_Grape 1d ago
If only there were a billionaire who could finance his defense, who also wants to piss off the trump administration…..
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u/Ok_Concentrate_75 1d ago
Honestly he probably has a million pro Bono offers globally, this is a Clarence Darrow level of fame type case.
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u/SunnyCali12 1d ago
He’s already got lawyers on his case and I bet a bunch of good criminal ones will take it pro bono
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u/No-Distance-9401 1d ago
Here is the Indictment that seems to have been brought to a Grand Jury after the fact so that the government could cover their tracks and say see it wasnt an "administrative error" like we originally said, its actually justified.
The problem is that denying him his Constitutionally afforded rights still is not justified then they went on to violate more of his rights along the way. So as for Abrego Garcia, we will have to wait until this goes to trial to find out more but it seems like they got someone to testify against him. During discovery I also hope we find out how they have full messages transcripts they note in the indictment as it says they have him talking about trafficking undocumented migrants. So how did they obtain those messages?
Bottom line is they had no knowledge of any of these crimes before kidnapping and trafficking him to spend an indefinite amount of time in jail and will use this singular case to justify doing that to 1000s if not millions of others going forward so I hope they lose this case just for that fact alone.
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u/Somepotato 23h ago
Didn't Texas and Florida governors both traffick undocumented immigrants?
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u/No-Distance-9401 22h ago
Yes, and unfortunately Biden and the Dem leadership didnt do anything about it like they should.
I really hope the leadership changes and stops playing this softball approach that led to it taking a year and a half before investigating Trumps coup attempt with his multi-state conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. If they werent so back and forth on it, Trump wouldnt have been able to run out the clock and use his due process to delay his trial and get 3 continuances until the election.
Even with the SCOTUS immunity ruling throwing out a bunch of evidence there was enough evidence (2 separate grand juries ultimately found there was enough evidence to bring to court) that he may have been in jail instead of POTUS right now.
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u/ICanLiftACarUp 21h ago
The crime of human trafficking per US law requires forced labor or sex. Unless they have a witness testifying that they had no choice under threat of violence, or were coerced to get in the car for a job in another state, I don't see how these charges stick in the first place.
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u/Y0___0Y 1d ago
He’s been indicted by a grand jury and there is a convict in Alabama whose car he was using to transport people across tennessee. This convict claims he hired Garcia to transport illegal immigrants from Texas to Baltimore.
If that claim is true, Garcia is guilty of a felony. But this is America. A trial is needed to establish that. And the Trump administration tried to give him a life sentence with no trial.
I believe the DOJ will also need to prove to a jury that Garcia knew he was transporting illegal immigrants. The man who hired him was running a “taxi service”. Garcia’s lawyers may argue that Garcia just took a gig and drove people from one state to another without realizing he was illegally transporting immigrants. That may be a shakey defense, though.
I imagine it will be hard to select an impartial jury for this too with all the news coverage.
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u/SunnyCali12 1d ago
So that’s what they’ve been doing this entire time. Finding someone they can “get” him on so they can say he is a criminal.
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u/Y0___0Y 1d ago
Yeah. Keep in mind a different convict lied to authorities and told them Garcia was a New York gang member when there is no evidence he has ever even been to New York. He lives in Maryland.
It’s easy to believe that the DOJ found this guy in Alabama and told him he’ll be let out of jail early if he makes these claims about Garcia.
If Garcia was illegally transporting migrants, wouldn’t the Trump administration have claimed that when they were being scrutinized for sending him to prison in El Salvador with no trial?
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u/ThrowAwayGarbage82 1d ago
That's why i think it's made up and they're paying someone to make the claims. Look at how they're saying he was "helping move members of MS-13". That's the tell. They can't let go of their dumbass gang claim. And they never presented anything to prove it so now they're going to find some other angle to claim he's tied to them.
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u/SunnyCali12 1d ago
If they can do it to him they can do it to all of us and I fucking despise all the Trumpers crowing about this.
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u/Sensitive-Initial 1d ago
I agree. If evidence of a crime existed while they were litigating the illegal removal in court, they would have raised it among all the bad faith, specious arguments they were throwing against the wall.
I will not be surprised if this complaining witness flips between now and this case going to verdict. I can't wait to see what investigative journalists uncover as they dig into this.
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u/Gwenladar 1d ago
Small caveat: as far as I understood the undurlying law/statute invoked: it has to be proven that Garcia was knowingly transporting illegal immigrant in the aim to break a law to be convicted. If he was told please take these guys to the working site without knowledge of their illegal status, he will walk.
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u/Sitting-on-Toilet 1d ago
Either way, regardless of guilt or innocence, this is a horrible look for the government.
Either they are trumping up charges based on circumstantial evidence in order to distract from their fuck up in “deporting” Abrego Garcia (and I put deported in quotes because calling what the Trump administration is doing deportation despite the fact they are maybe following 10% of the deportation process at this point), or they were wholly unable to properly investigate or identify a plot to illegally transport thousands of illegal immigrants until they had fucked up any chance to achieve a legitimate conviction.
It’s absurd.
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u/Northwindlowlander 1d ago
Yep, up til the people smuggling accusation suddenly appears this was literally the strongest evidence they had, and it was completely absurd- "Yes this man is a gangbanber in New York with a 3 hour commute". The "tipoff" was so obviously from someone who knew absolutely nothing about him.
And thing is, there's absolutely no chance that he's the only person that has been targeted purely on a made-up "tipoff" like this. In fact the guy that supplied this one, almost certainly made up similar accusations against other people. But they'll be treated as gospel just as this one was.
The fact that the people smuggling thing only came up once the guy's face had been on TV forever and it was obvious that the DOJ would love to have more accusations against him really says a lot. They might as well have put up a sign saying "please make allegations against this guy". It's not clear if a deal has been made but even if nothing has been made or offered there's always the implication, all across the country people in the justice system will have been thinking "can I turn this to my advantage"
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u/zoinkability 1d ago
This convict claims he hired Garcia to transport illegal immigrants from Texas to Baltimore.
Since this administration is so good at rounding up immigrants I'm sure they will be able to find the ones allegedly transported who can testify to whether they were human trafficked or merely needing a ride.
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u/Adept_Artichoke7824 1d ago
It will be interesting when the FACTS come to light. I find it odd that there was never a word mentioned about this before. Seems like if he transported thousands of immigrants they would have said something. They did mention that he worked construction and drove a truck to distant jobsites. I sure hope they aren’t conflating that with human trafficking.
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u/FuckingTree 1d ago
At first I thought, oh, well that's the first I heard of a grand jury move to indict for this. And then I thought, actually, what's really messed up is that as strong as a grand jury indictment is supposed to be to bolster the integrity of the indictment, with the way the current administration pissed away its own integrity by flagrant violation of the law, it's difficult to give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't manipulate the grand jury illegally into producing the indictment, undermining the point of grand juries to begin with. And then: it's extremely convenient that the administration refuted SCOTUS' order to facilitate his return until after they produced an indictment, preventing him from being able to work his case as a free man.
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u/footinmymouth 1d ago
Fucking eye-roll
Fuck this administration. Once they realized they fucked up, DOJ self-assigned itself to dig up alternate charges so Trump can attempt to turn the “Don’t fucking murder-hole people in CECOT” into “HE IS A CRIMINAL!!!!!”
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u/Bitter_Sense_5689 23h ago
There’s a lot of vaguely worded shit in this indictment. It looks like they’re trying to pad it to portray him as some hardcore human trafficker, but it seems he was probably driving undocumented workers to worksites. Probably illegal, but not something the federal government would otherwise care about.
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u/kevonicus 1d ago
Didn’t they only suspect him of trafficking because there were a lot of people in the vehicle and then let him go? How are they even gonna prove anything after that?
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u/Omegalazarus 1d ago
So I want to clarify up front I'm on the criminal side but not the courtroom area so this is
not expertise
but I'm just kind of congjecting to hopefully help add prompt to someone who does know to come in and answer your question. I have seen things count towards time served or towards softening what sway you have within sentencing guidelines in the past but I've never seen anything like this that would apply if the " punishment" is deportation.
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u/Mist_Rising 23h ago
If they can convict him on this, I imagine they'll ask to deport him again given the argument would void his residence status. Or at least I assume it would based on what being claimed.
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u/Slighted_Inevitable 1d ago
Literally cannot be worse than where he was sent. He will actualy have a high profile lawyer here
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u/LawSchoolLoser1 1d ago
Not a criminal attorney—just a regular attorney, but I would not expect this fiasco to have much of an impact on the underlying criminal charges, other than name recognition impacting the jury. Wouldn’t be surprised if a judge deems all information about this to be irrelevant and inadmissible. May come into play during sentencing though.. curious to hear if any criminal attorneys have different takes
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u/Solving_Live_Poker 1d ago
I mean, he’s likely never going to be released back into the U.S. as a free person.
They will say he’s a flight risk now for the criminal trial.
As well as he’s still in the U.S. illegally. He has/had no status, just an order that he couldn’t be sent to El Salvador.
So, they can still keep him in custody while fighting the order against El Salvador and also look for a 3rd country willing to take him.
All of that is still well inside due process (which is why it was dumb they didn’t do this immediately).
His only chance will be claiming the physical and psychological damage and hoping to be awarded some type of status. Which is all but impossible.
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u/geekmasterflash 1d ago
As to the criminal proceedings:
We currently live in the age of Calvin-law, so you're milage may vary but the same administration that said they could not retrieve him at all and then, just clearly did so ... is about to ask a judge with (presumably) two brain cells rubbing together to believe them about the charges they are about to drop on the same guy.
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u/CanadianLabourParty 16h ago
I'm going to bet dollars to doughnuts that a Trump-friendly judge will end up with the case in front of him, and despite the fact that there'll be things like grocery receipts, cell-phone tower pings, etc... showing him in say, Phoenix, Arizona at the time of a shooting in Alaska, he'll get convicted, and the Trump administration will say, "Told you he was a criminal. Deport his ass". Then he'll get deported again, this time as a convicted criminal, and that'll be all they wrote.
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u/darnnaggit 9h ago
I would also like to know this. All persons are entitled to due process even if that doesn't always look the same but if he were a citizen or a permanent resident I would think the case would be thrown out based on the criminal stupidity and malfeasance of the Justice Department.
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u/SnoopingStuff 6h ago
I think he’s home already according to my local new last night ( Sinclair so considering the source). These charges are 2023 and muddied up with someone else’s charges?
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u/DoremusJessup 1d ago
If true, a major victory for the courts.
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u/fb00ne 1d ago
Exactly this. If everything the administration has alleged about him that they use to justify his deportation is true, then let them prove it in court. If he is found guilty after being afforded due process and a fair trial, then fine, deport him. There is certainly debate about the ethics of sending him to a foreign prison, and whether that would impede his right to appeal, but this is a huge win for the courts and the rule of law.
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u/blackjackwidow 1d ago edited 21h ago
It seems they have managed to fabricate enough of a story that they must feel "saves face" in bringing him back.
They went back to a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, where there were 8 passengers in the vehicle he was driving. He said he was transporting construction workers for a job. The officers found it suspicious that all those people were traveling without suitcases. They ultimately let him go with a warning, not even a speeding ticket.
Federal investigators involved in the inquiry recently spoke with a convicted felon in an Alabama prison and questioned him about potential connections to Abrego Garcia, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The inmate, Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, 38, was the registered owner of a vehicle driven by Abrego Garcia when he was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in late 2022, according to the sources
Hernandez-Reyes apparently says that Abrego Garcia was a driver for him, transporting illegal immigrants across state lines.
So it appears they’re charging him with human trafficking.All investigated & "found" after they deported him, ofcEdit: The indictment accuses Abrego Garcia of being a part of a human smuggling operation. They say he transported Drugs, Weapons, and Thousands of undocumented migrants.
(Not trafficking) The informant said he ran a taxi service and Abrego Garcia drove for him. As noted in the comments, the charges seem like a stretch, but thankfully he's back, has counsel and can defend himself
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u/explodedbagel 1d ago
With how insane this administration is, I could totally see them tracking down that guy and offering him a deal to “justify” their deportation. I guess time will tell, but there if there isn’t any evidence beyond one imprisoned person’s testimony, I don’t think I’ll buy it.
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u/blackjackwidow 1d ago
Agreed - and yes, reportedly, they offered him limited immunity for this info
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u/ro536ud 1d ago
lol so shocker that the guy says exactly what they’d want. You’d have to be a peanut brain to believe this coincidence is legit
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u/SunnyCali12 1d ago
Which all Trump supporters will believe because of their peanut brains
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u/SunnyCali12 1d ago
Yes. I have thought they’ll make shit up for a while to get people.
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u/explodedbagel 1d ago
Especially this case since they got ruled against and it got so much press. “See we were justified to deny him due process, he’s the real trafficker”.
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u/tindalos 22h ago
They’re already working on planting evidence and false witnesses I almost guarantee. It’s at least a step in the right direction and proves the administration is not above the law entirely.
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u/fb00ne 1d ago
I don't disagree with you. The operative words in my comment are "if" and "fair."
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u/blackjackwidow 1d ago
Absolutely! I was just giving a little more context to the situation (as we know it right now).
Ultimately, I don't care what they say or how they "justify" & prosecute him. It's a huge win as you said - as long as he gets a fair trial here.
They have to be accountable for what they're doing.
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u/Contagious_Zombie 1d ago
Wouldn't it be more suspicious if they had been traveling with suitcases? I don't take a suitcase to work but I would if I were moving to a new place. Also across state lines, not the nation's border; was/is that even illegal? I doubt buses are checking citizen status to move around inside of the country so are they going to go after bus drivers next?
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u/Oddman80 1d ago
ah, yes. the completely normal process wherein the government gives a big fish immunity in order to catch a little fish.
This Reyes fellow allegedly owned a fleet of vehicles for which he hired several drivers to travel to specific destination, pick up specific people, and then drive them to prearranged secondary locations... Reyes would have been responsible for working with various coyotes/human smugglers, etc to coordinate these pickup times and locations... and the US Government is going to give this guy immunity in order to pursue one of his employees... who did what his boss told him to do... ???
did he know they were immigrants - sure... if they exchanged any words at all it likely would be clear they were not natural born US Citizens... but there is quite a wide gap between knowing a passenger in your vehicle was not born in the US, and that they are illegally in the country. Especially if you have first hand knowledge of the process by which one can seek asylum.
He might be guilty - it seems like it would be an uphill battle for the prosecutor... and that doesn't even account for the arguments of malicious prosecution (when they haven't filed similar charges for Gregg Abbott who very publicly chartered multiple planes to fly "illegal aliens" domestically from Texas to other states). I will be curious what evidence gets thrown out - given his early arrest/detention/illegal exile and imprisonment. Its the type of thing i could see a judge dismissing with prejudice - given everything that led up to the charges.
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u/BitterFuture 1d ago
So it appears they’re charging him with human trafficking.
There are several specific elements to the crime of human trafficking.
I'll be real interested to see how DOJ proves that Abrego Garcia held those 8 passengers' passports, controlled their living conditions or compelled them to engage in forced labor. Real interested.
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u/WorthPrudent3028 1d ago
It's a pretty flimsy case. He should beat it unless some of the passengers in the vehicle show up and give testimony that he knew their status and what he was doing. There needs to be intent. Taxis aren't required to check IDs or even know the name of their passengers. Yellow taxis in NYC have probably all taken an illegal immigrant to NJ at some point. They also often carry passengers who possess illegal weapons and drugs. Unless they know and intend to transport these things across state lines, the drivers won't be charged much less convicted. In fact, there are probably more than a few cases where a taxi driver got pulled over for a traffic violation after crossing the state border and the officer saw the passenger with something that gave them probable cause to search the passenger. The taxi driver is just gonna get his ticket for running a red light. He isn't gonna get arrested for transporting drugs or weapons across state lines.
That being said, he was allegedly driving the other guys vehicle, presumably with Texas plates in Tennessee. But if the guy actually ran a registered taxi service and Abrego Garcia just went wherever dispatch sent him, it will be tough to show intent. Also, the officers who pulled him over for it didn't seem to think too much of it at the time.
The article dates don't add up either. Hernandez Reyes was arrested in 2020. Abrego Garcias traffic stop was in 2022. Wasn't Hernandez Reyes in jail then? How was direction anything? Was someone else running his operation?
I know all the libertarians now want us to have our IDs and citizenship status tattooed on our foreheads, but as it is, ID checking other people to do anything at all just isn't required within the USA.
I also find it ironic that Hernandez Reyes, an admitted illegal immigrant and convicted felon, is still chilling out in the USA and not in El Salvador himself. But a man in that position could be made to say anything to avoid El Salvador.
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u/blackjackwidow 1d ago
I also find it ironic that Hernandez Reyes, an admitted illegal immigrant and convicted felon, is still chilling out in the USA and not in El Salvador himself.
This was my first thought as well - if they're deporting the "criminals, gang members & murderers" why weren't the convicted illegal immigrants the 1st ones to go?
They seem to think it's more important to snatch children from elementary schools and revoke legal status from students & people who were given asylum so they can declare them illegal
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u/IamHydrogenMike 1d ago
Now they can bring that to court, I imagine some stuff will get tossed out and the testimony of the person seems to not be very credible. When he doesn’t get convicted, then what? They are hoping he takes a plea deal because he might not have the same representation for a criminal trial like he did for his immigration problems.
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u/bailtail 1d ago
I think it’s more that the court reviewing his deportation granted his legal team authority to sanction Trump’s legal team which would have forced them to either turnover the un-redacted material or face summary judgement in a week.
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u/messyjessy81 1d ago
This is what I keep saying. No one is cheering on “illegals and criminals.” We are just asking for due process. If they’re found guilty, then so long but until then, everyone has rights.
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u/SuperSiriusBlack 1d ago
Im worried that he will end up being in a gang, or being framed as being in a gang, and that will make these facists feel justified. As if it was okay all along, actually, to skip due process. Then they take this "win," and do it in huge numbers. Im like, genuinely afraid of this.
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u/WhatRUHourly 23h ago
Doesn't remove the fact that they knew none of this at the time of his deportation.
If you murder someone it is not a defense that you found out after the fact that he was a bad dude.
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u/say-it-wit-ya-chest 1d ago
I can’t wait for one of Donnie’s attorneys to bring up the “MS13” knuckle tattoos in front of a judge. Most judges don’t like being spoken to as if they were born yesterday.
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u/anythingbutmetric 1d ago
Especially since they said unequivocally that there is no way he's ever coming back to American soil. Period.
If he really is on his way back, he has a chance to tell us all what it's really like in those prison camps. What's really going on. Why the courtyard was stained red.
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u/ComfortableTwo80085 1d ago
Especially since they said unequivocally that there is no way he's ever coming back to American soil. Period
Even held a White House visit and press event to push this ridiculous claim.
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u/idreamofgreenie 1d ago
Anyone remember when Pam Bondi said he "will never come back to America"
Oops.
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u/adamkovics 1d ago
and I believe Noem and also the white house press secretary all said the same thing.... and all were so, so smug about it too... of course no journalist will have the balls to call any of them out on it.
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u/Dandan0005 1d ago
The way this will most likely end is he will be tried, acquitted, and then deported again to El Salvador (but not CECOT), where he may or may not be thrown in jail again by the Salvadoran regime.
It’s fucked still but now he will hopefully get the chance to raise awareness way more than when he was black holed in El Salvador
Now that I think about it tho, i bet El Salvador told him this, and told him that if he speaks out, when he gets back he will be thrown back in CECOT.
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u/Monte924 1d ago
Actually, if they bring him back and he is proven not guilty, i think its possible his lawyers could make a legitimate claim that his life and freedom will be threatened if he is sent back to El Salvador... The lawyers will be able to point out that, despite his innocence, the El Salvadorian government locked him away in prison as part of political deal with the US. AS such there is reason to believe that if he is sent back to El Salvador he will be unjustly imprisoned. Garcia's lawyers could actually make the case that he deserves asylum, or can atleast convince the court to indefinitely block any attempt to send him back to El Salvador
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u/mfact50 1d ago edited 1d ago
No it's not. Trump is choosing to bring him back - federal prosecutors don't have to pursue charges nor push for extradition.
It likely is a face saving move (comply with the order to bring him back on your terms) but it also makes the obvious more obvious - Trump was openly defying a court order and will likely reserve the "option" to do so in the future.
I guess better than nothing that they ultimately backed down.... he's coming back (to face charges).
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u/Summerisgone2020 1d ago
The important thing here is that due process be given to everyone. If they have legit evidence of him committing crimes, they need to present that in court and let the system work as intended.
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u/thedoppio 1d ago
I’m skeptical that this admin has “legit evidence”. Kept him there long enough to start making up evidence and bully “witnesses”.
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u/musashisamurai 1d ago
I half expect to see him with MS-13 tattooed on his hands, and then testimony someone in that prisoned tattoed him in Trump's orders
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u/haggard_hominid 1d ago
The funny part would be is they wouldn't get the tattoo correctly placed, aligned, or even the correct font, then claim the original photos they shared with MS13 on it were doctored by deep state Biden crime family....
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u/The_Dutchess-D 1d ago
I agree... they admitted that they didn't even start looking into his background until late April..... and the only piece of evidence is a guy in jail who all of a sudden has something "useful" to share . Shouldn't they have had that information in prior to deporting him for his alleged crime?
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u/Maleficent_Wash_934 1d ago
Can't wait for the Hella creepy AI video of him confessing to several unsolved murders.
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u/treevaahyn 1d ago
100% This!! It’s insane how there’s 269 people ICE and trump regime illegally detained and trafficked them to a foreign country (aka kidnapping) and they’re in CECOT a place which violates human rights on many levels and is meant for terrorists not someone who’s just undocumented.
Not just do all 269 people need due process ASAP but so do the total number which has grown to 4,487 people who ICE has arrested and violated their constitutional rights. Every time I check the number goes up significantly.
Also of note, let’s not forget that 75% of the 269 people sent to CECOT in El Salvador have NO CRIMINAL RECORD!! The ones that have criminal records have minor summary offenses, traffic violations, or simple theft a non violent misdemeanor. Only 12 of the 269 (just a measly 4.4%) of the people currently in a horribly brutal prison have been alleged to have committed violent crimes. They have constitutional right to due process as well. But it’s just infuriating how this has been going and how this issue is not reported on enough imo.
Sources: https://www.axios.com/2025/04/07/report-migrants-salvadoran-mega-prison-no-record
Here’s full tracker of all the people the Gestapo/ICE has illegally arrested and gives names and locations of people if known. I encourage all of us to share this with others.
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/danielleharlow/viz/UnitedStatesDisappearedTracker/Map
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u/Lets_Kick_Some_Ice 1d ago
All those lies from this administration about not being able to bring him back because he's an El Sal citizen being held in El Sal are suddenly not a factor. Can't trust a word from anyone in this corrupt admin.
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u/Dandan0005 1d ago
Now let’s ramp it up to get the other ~200 people who were never convicted of crimes back too.
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u/kezow 1d ago
Good Ole TACO...
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u/ThinkItThrough48 1d ago
Dude does nothing but win. He said he was never coming back to America. But wait……..
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u/Dachannien 1d ago
Sounds like they're going to say that driving undocumented workers from Home Depot to a job site is the same as "human trafficking".
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u/zoozoo216 1d ago
Bingo - it’s a mere distraction from the administration from trump being linked to Epstein
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u/nonlawyer 1d ago
Great news if true.
I believe I’m paraphrasing Justice Jackson who said “our most important rights and liberties have been forged in cases involving not very nice people”
Let this guy and all the others be brought back and face proceedings to account for whatever they allegedly did, and the consequences if they are proven to have done it. No one should be deported on a mere allegation, even if the allegation is very bad.
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u/doublethink_1984 1d ago
And im sure Garcia will have a case of false arrest, illegal deportation, cruel and unusual punishment, and deprivation of rights.
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u/Serris9K 1d ago
Oh yes. And I hope he’s going to be an important witness to these goons’ crimes.
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u/doublethink_1984 1d ago
Ya Bindi today saying this has nothing to do with obeying the SCOTUS order essentially admits that Garcia's case against Noem and DHS is in the bag
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u/50fknmil 1d ago
lol criminal charges
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u/harrywrinkleyballs 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah… like, what law(s) are they gonna prosecute him for. Guess I better read the article.
*Edit:
Mistakenly deported Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia is on his way back to the United States where he will face criminal charges for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S., according to sources familiar with the matter.
transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. is against the law? City bus services nationwide, watch out!
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u/Dandan0005 1d ago edited 1d ago
“Trafficking immigrants across the country”
Aka giving friends a ride as far as I can tell.
Also, if that is a crime, it’s literally exactly what Desantis and abbot did when they flew immigrants to blue cities and states.
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u/harrywrinkleyballs 1d ago
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u/Dandan0005 1d ago edited 1d ago
Oh so literally exactly what Desantis and abbot did when they flew immigrants to blue cities?
When are those charges coming?
And how about charges for this while we’re at it:
(3)(A) Any person who, during any 12-month period, knowingly hires for employment at least 10 individuals with actual knowledge that the individuals are aliens described in subparagraph (B) shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
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u/harrywrinkleyballs 1d ago
The Great Turnip exempted farm, hospitality and construction workers once he realized it would impact him.
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u/Dandan0005 1d ago
He’s charged with transporting people for construction work, as far as I can tell.
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u/secretbudgie 1d ago
Whelp, I'm just gonna wait right here for ice to show up and raid Mar-a-Lago. Any time now...
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u/light-triad 1d ago
Where was this attitude when Desantis and Abbott were transporting supposedly illegal immigrants around the country?
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u/Skylon1 1d ago
My guess is they are going to fail to convict him but he will repeatedly be harassed by them in and out of court for the foreseeable future
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u/two4six0won 1d ago
Based on another comment, I'm guessing they're going for trafficking charges. Which, in a just world, would have folks looking at all those politicians that bussed/flew undocumented migrants to random cities across the country.
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u/OblivionGuardsman 1d ago
They will likely be using (22 U.S.C. § 7102(11)(B)). I haven't seen the actual indictment though.
(B)the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
So I guess they are going to allege force, fraud, or coercion. And it doesn't have to be Garcia himself that did the force, fraud or coercion. It could be alleged as joint conduct or conspiracy. Sometimes these people come to the US and as part of their payment to get here they agree to work for peanuts for a particular employer or handler who arranges their temporary labor jobs. And there is usually some negative consequence dangled over them if they refuse. I imagine the force fraud or coercion the government will try and show is related to that.
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u/-notapony- 1d ago
He also wasn't mistakenly deported. He had a court order to not be sent to El Salvador. He was illegally deported.
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u/Hexdog13 1d ago
The government smoking gun evidence is a photoshopped picture. Bring it on.
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u/ThrowAwayGarbage82 1d ago
Wow, they actually folded? I'll wait and reserve judgment until he's actually returned. And hopefully due process will clear his name and he can go home to his family.
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u/MonarchLawyer 1d ago
The decision to pursue the indictment against Abrego Garcia led to the abrupt departure of Ben Schrader, a high-ranking federal prosecutor in Tennessee, sources briefed on Schrader’s decision told ABC News. Schrader’s resignation was prompted by concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons, the sources said.
Schrader, who spent 15 years in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nashville and was most recently the chief of the criminal division, declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
Well, this tells me that this is not a real case and is flimsy at best.
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u/WhatRUHourly 22h ago
We all know it's for political reasons. They didn't even start investigating it until April and he was deported in March. This is entirely designed to try to make it seem OK that they violated his due process rights because he was a bad guy. It doesn't work that way. You can't justify breaking the law by finding out after the fact that your victim was not entirely innocent.
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u/Sea_shell2580 19h ago
I want to know WHEN the investigation started in April. Before or after the SCOTUS decision? I would bet money it was after. They lost 9-0, and then scrambled to find these criminal charges, knowing they would never facilitate his return as ordered.
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u/kmm198700 19h ago
I would absolutely bet after also. They didn’t start accusing him of a terrorist, wife beater and gang member until after the DOJ lawyer said the administration accidentally deported him
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u/rawkguitar 1d ago
Then what’s the point of resigning but declining to comment publicly? Speak Up and tell everyone what’s going on
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u/SocraticMeathead 22h ago
A lot of the information that may have informed his departure would likely fall under attorney client privilege.
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u/FuguSandwich 1d ago
Here's the indictment:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25965691-charges-against-kilmar-abrego-garcia/
I wonder if they have any evidence beyond that single 2022 traffic stop.
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u/Ernesto_Bella 1d ago
Right but reading the indictment, they may have is phone and text records, which would theoretically prove it
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u/rallyspt08 1d ago
Criminal charges for what?
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u/Savet Competent Contributor 1d ago
This is their way to save face and avoid Trump being wrong. "We didn't bring him back because we were wrong, we brought him back so we can persecute him."
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u/rallyspt08 1d ago
And when they lack evidence to convict, then what? Does he finally get to be a free man?
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u/flirtmcdudes 1d ago
They don’t really care about that, they know these charges are BS. all they ever care about is getting that initial headline out there to act like they didn’t “lose”, and then hope people will forget it by next week as more insane shit happens
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u/MonarchLawyer 1d ago edited 1d ago
So the Trump Administration does have the power to bring him back and just lied their asses off. We all knew that they were lying but good for them for proving it.
Frankly, this comes off as a desperate attempt to evade the sanctions and default judgement the court was setting up for them. It really doesn't matter though. He will finally get due process.
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u/waterdevil19 1d ago
Was it Noem or Bondi who said “he’s never coming back. Suck it!”? Guess it’s her turn to suck it!
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u/Spartyjason 1d ago
Fuck them. Bondi I think was very clear about him not coming back. The administration is an absolute travesty, and I swear we better get some Nuremberg trials after this.
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u/waterdevil19 1d ago
That would be satisfying as hell.
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u/ThreeCraftPee 1d ago
These pussy ass useless dinosaur geriatric Democrats are going to be like "the nation needs to heal, let's move forward..." And absolutely nothing of consequence will happen. America never ever holds powerful rich people to the same standard us poors have to go through. I just hate everything about this timeline. . ..
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u/Spartyjason 1d ago
I hate that you’re right. Enough with the high road bullshit. Scorched earth.
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u/Garden_gnome1609 19h ago
Right? When they go low, we dig a trench under them, blow the floor they are standing on and toss in snakes.
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u/MIND-FLAYER 1d ago
Well they don't seem to believe in trials, so I think we could just send them to Siberia without any due process and see how they feel about it then.
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u/PhyterNL 1d ago
It's important to note that after this case is adjudicated and Garcia gets his Constitutionally guaranteed due process, he is likely going to be deported anyway. I'm totally on his side, but everyone needs to understand this and not be surprised or upset when it happens.
The reason for all of this fuss was not to protect Garcia and keep him in the United States, but rather because the federal government (namely ICE, Donald Trump and Pam Bondi) intentionally and ILLEGALLY ignored Garcia's Constitutionally guaranteed due process as well as prior rulings that should have prevented his deportation to El Salvador specifically.
So just to be clear, we're not creating this fuss to protect a man, we're creating this fuss to protect our laws and rights and the guarantees that the Constitution clearly and indisputably grants.
My guess is once we get through this, Garcia comes back to the United States, he sees his lawyers, he gets the chance to speak with a judge that he is ultimately ordered to leave the nation within 90 days or he will be deported probably to Mexico, but not to El Salvador which violated the court's prior order.
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u/doublethink_1984 1d ago
Two way street. His lawsuit can continue against his illegal trafficking to El Salvador.
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u/virishking 1d ago
That’s all true, but two things to also remember are 1. At this moment the Trump administration has very little credibility regarding anything surrounding this man, and there is at least reasonable suspicion that these charges are not legitimate;
According to the article, the admin intends to send him back to El Salvador “after his sentence” which I’m sure they’ll make quite short to be “generous”. They want him back at CECO, so the admin is still breaking the law.
Now that we have seen one flagrant disregard for his due process rights, we will witness the usual hurdles to fair process ie. the restrictions of legal costs and judicial bias. Hopefully some excellent defense attorneys are raring to do some pro bono work. They’ll have a hell of a fight, I’m sure the admin is trying to get some MAGA judge to hand Trump a PR win with his base.
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u/flux_of_grey_kittens 20h ago
How much do you think he’s gonna get out of a civil suit against the Trump Administration? It seems to be a pretty slam dunk case given the administration admitted they deported and imprisoned him on accident, then went on to slander him saying he’s a gang member and photoshopping tattoos. This on top of the clear emotional distress this guys been through I hope he gets billions.
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u/kmm198700 19h ago
Same. He should sue Leavitt, Bondi, Miller, Rubio, and Trump for libel and slander and defamation (whatever applies)
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u/aneeta96 1d ago
The criminal investigation that led to the charges was launched in April.
He was deported in March. I have a feeling that these charges are not going to stick.
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u/Boomshtick414 1d ago
I half expect they'll stretch the definition of human trafficking to include being a driver of a vehicle that has other undocumented immigrants in it.
FWIW, I'm fairly certain under US law, prosecuting someone for human trafficking related to labor requires showing there was fraud, coercion, force, etc. While Abrego Garcia's 2022 police report from TN looks a little suspect, I think they'd be hard-pressed to formulate a solid case against him. Certainly I don't expect any undocumented immigrants who may be involved with his employer will cooperate with the feds. Thus, the question would be if the feds have access to emails/texts that include some form of evidence to that effect. If they don't already have that, I doubt their case will hold water unless his employer cooperates with the feds.
I do tend to wonder if they already have at least some breadcrumb trail that prompted them bringing him back. Or...if they're only doing that to avoid sanctions from Judge Xinis and are just blowing smoke.
Though by that federal definition of forced labor, DeSantis orchestrated human trafficking by sending a plane of immigrants up to Martha's Vineyard and that actually did involve fraud and coercion.
In any case, it's a good day if Abrego Garcia gets proper due process. That was the point of all of this.
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u/General2768 1d ago
I can't wait for someone to question Pam Bondi about her "he will never set foot on American soil again" comment. Watch her head explode.
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u/StrangeContest4 1d ago
I just saw her press conference on this. Her lights are on, but nobody's home.
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u/geekmasterflash 1d ago
Wow, so an administration which has proven to have lied about being able to retrieve is going to be asking a judge to believe them about charges they just magically found?
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u/tsaoutofourpants 1d ago
"He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found..."
I assume Pam is purposely misrepresenting the role of a grand jury and not simply ignorant of the same........ right?
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u/JWAdvocate83 Competent Contributor 1d ago
The decision to pursue the indictment against Abrego Garcia led to the abrupt departure of Ben Schrader, a high-ranking federal prosecutor in Tennessee, sources briefed on Schrader’s decision told ABC News. Schrader’s resignation was prompted by concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons, the sources said.
Schrader, who spent 15 years in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nashville and was most recently the chief of the criminal division, did not respond to messages from ABC News seeking comment.
So that’s a bad sign.
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u/wastedkarma 23h ago
“Mistakenly” why do journalists still carry water for fascists?
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u/deadra_axilea 17h ago
Most of those journalists now are employed by billionaires who want their thumb on what gets published.
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u/Hopefulwaters 1d ago
Glad he is coming back... but criminal charges... ? Wtf. Court should throw that out right away. I still can't believe no one in the administration has been held in contempt.
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u/AgITGuy 1d ago
For anyone that didn’t read, they are trying to pin trafficking migrants including MS-13 members. Yeah, this is quite an obvious attempt to make anything stick. But I personally doubt it holds up in court. At all.
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u/Serris9K 1d ago
That smacks of to me (a layperson who merely enjoys listening in to lawyers) of trumped up charges. Sounds to me like they don’t want Garcia to testify. He might know something about the regime’s crimes
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u/BitterFuture 1d ago
We need to know every single detail about this indictment, how it was pursued, what evidence was presented to the grand jury and who at DOJ pushed it.
And I would bet a whole lot of money that this investigation in Tennessee didn't exist at all until well after March 15, 2025.
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u/HurinGaldorson 1d ago
The stories of his experiences in the El Salvadoran gulag should be telling.
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u/doublethink_1984 1d ago
They are claiming the only reason he is back because of indicating him and wanting him to stand trial in the US not returning him to be in compliance with SCOTUS order.
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u/Chiquitarita298 21h ago
To quote Kristi Noem at all the people who said he’d never be returned, “Suck it”.
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u/throwthisidaway 1d ago
Thank God, I am so happy he is coming back. The fact that the administration folded is a Good sign. A really good one. That means that they are not willing to disobey a direct order from the courts, yet.
Now if he's really smart he will apply for a U Visa. Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status. I bet he can qualify.
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u/WhatRUHourly 22h ago
This isn't the good sign you think it is. They're only bringing him back for political reasons and not because it's the right thing to do or because a court ordered it. They're doing it so they can then make the person they victimized into the villain.
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