Nashville, Tennessee - Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose unlawful deportation has become a symbol of President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policy, pleaded not guilty on Friday in a federal court in Tennessee. He is accused of smuggling people. It was the first time the construction worker from Maryland was able to personally respond in a US courtroom to the government’s allegations - since his mistaken deportation in March to a notorious prison in El Salvador. His attorneys call it a political maneuver: the charges, they say, are an attempt to retroactively justify the government’s own wrongful actions. The investigation only began weeks after his forced removal - and precisely after the Supreme Court had ruled that the government had committed serious violations of due process. Public and legal pressure then led to Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States. In court, his defense lawyers stated that several prosecution witnesses had cooperated with authorities in exchange for benefits in ongoing criminal cases or immigration-related concessions. A federal agent confirmed that one of the main witnesses, despite a criminal record and illegal presence in the US, is now part of a fast-track legal process. “He’s exactly the kind of person this government should be deporting,” said public defender Dumaka Shabazz. “Instead, they’re offering deals to people like that - just to get Kilmar Abrego Garcia.”
At the center of the hearing was the question of whether Abrego Garcia should be released before the trial begins. US Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes said a decision would come “sooner rather than later.” The charges against Abrego Garcia are based on an incident from 2022: during a traffic stop for speeding in Tennessee, he was driving a vehicle with nine other occupants. Police suspected human smuggling but let him go with a warning after a brief conversation. Bodycam footage shows a calm exchange. The officers then speculated that Abrego Garcia was transporting people for money - a white envelope containing $1,400 had been found. Federal prosecutors now accuse him of transporting undocumented individuals, including children and alleged MS-13 members, across the United States on a large scale. In preparation for the hearing, prosecutors portrayed him as a danger to society and a flight risk. Although no formal charges for weapons or drug trafficking were filed, exactly such allegations were raised, as well as accusations of abusing women he had allegedly transported. Acting US Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, Rob McGuire, stated in court: “Transporting migrants is inherently dangerous.” Prosecutors also submitted two protection orders that Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, had filed against him in 2020 and 2021 for domestic violence. The wife explained, however, that the conflicts had since been resolved as a family - including through joint therapy.
The defense denied that their client posed a threat and argued the allegations were not serious enough to justify pretrial detention. “If Mr. Abrego Garcia is so dangerous, this violent MS-13 guy - why did it take almost three years to indict him?” Shabazz asked. “Why only after the Supreme Court determined that his basic legal rights had been denied?” During the hearing, a Department of Homeland Security investigator named Peter Joseph testified. Three unnamed witnesses had told a grand jury that Abrego Garcia was involved in human, drug, and weapons trafficking - and allegedly earned over $100,000 per year. One man claimed Abrego Garcia had behaved inappropriately toward underage girls. A woman said he had asked her for nude photos when she was 15 and that she believed he was a member of the MS-13 gang.
The defense questioned these claims. One witness had a criminal record, had been deported before, and was serving a sentence at the time of testimony. He now lives in a transitional facility and is preparing to apply for a work permit. The second witness is a close relative of the first - he allegedly testified in exchange for early release. A third female witness had previously received money for cooperating with authorities. According to case files, one of the witnesses said Abrego Garcia regularly traveled between Maryland and Houston - each trip taking about 24 hours - often with his wife and two of his children in the car. The defense emphasized that Abrego Garcia has three children, two of whom are autistic.
Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador and lived in the US for over a decade before being deported - in violation of a 2019 court order explicitly forbidding his removal. At the time, it had been recognized that he faced gang persecution in his home country. On Thursday evening - just one day before the hearing - Jennifer Vasquez Sura addressed supporters in front of a church. In tears, she said she had seen her husband for the first time since his deportation that day. It had been exactly three months since “the Trump administration kidnapped and disappeared my husband.” Her voice broke as she said: “Kilmar wants you not to lose hope.” The decision to prosecute Abrego Garcia criminally led to a resignation at the Department of Justice: Ben Schrader, head of the criminal division at the US Attorney’s Office in Nashville, stepped down shortly afterward. While he declined to comment publicly, a person familiar with the matter confirmed a direct connection. Lastly, a correction should be noted: the Trump administration has since clarified that the charges pertain to transports within the United States - not illegal border crossings. A clarification that reveals much about the political calculus behind this case.
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