BREAKING: Federal judge dismisses human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

A federal judge in Tennessee has granted a motion to dismiss an indictment charging Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian illegal immigrant whom the Trump administration says has ties to MS-13, with human smuggling.

US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw wrote, "The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution. The Executive Branch closed its investigation on the November 2022 traffic stop. Only after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his rights did the Executive Branch reopen that investigation."

"What the Government labels as 'new evidence' was not new as a matter of law. The prosecutor’s subjective good faith does not cure the retaliatory taint. Absent Blanche’s tainted investigation, Agent Saoud would not have called McGuire, Singh would not have brought him into the fold, and McGuire would not have sought an indictment against Abrego. The indictment then provided the Executive Branch cover to comply with Judge Xinis’ order to facilitate Abrego’s return to the United States as soon as possible."

Abrego Garcia has become a focal point of the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. He was deported in the spring of 2025 to El Salvador, a move that violated a 2019 court order, an action the administration later acknowledged was an “administrative error.” He was subsequently returned to the United States and taken into custody on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop.