Deportation Error Abrego Garcia

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife, center, hold hands as people rally in support of him at a news conference outside federal court after a hearing in his case on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Greenbelt, Md.

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Judge dismisses criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported

Judge dismisses criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported

A human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia in Tennessee has been dismissed without a trial. Abrego Garcia's mistaken deportation to El Salvador last year became an embarrassment for President Donald Trump’s administration when it was ordered to return him to the U.S. Abrego Garcia claimed the timing of the criminal charges and inflammatory statements about him by top Trump officials demonstrated the prosecution was vindictive. A federal judge in Tennessee on Friday agreed to dismiss the charges. Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen with an American wife and child who has lived in Maryland for years, although he immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.