Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was inadvertently deported to El Salvador, has been returned to the United States to face criminal charges as confirmed in an indictment announced this past Friday.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, during a press conference at the Department of Justice, expressed satisfaction over this development.
“This is what American justice looks like,” Bondi asserted while thanking Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for allowing Abrego Garcia’s return.
Abrego Garcia was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 21 in Tennessee for allegedly conspiring to transport thousands of migrants without legal status across the U.S. from Texas between the years 2016 to 2025.
The two-count indictment charges him with “conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain” as well as “unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain.”
Bondi confirmed that Abrego Garcia is scheduled to face a trial in the U.S. on these serious charges.
If convicted, he will serve time in a U.S. prison before being deported back to El Salvador.
In contrast to this legal proceeding, Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, voiced concerns about the fairness of the process.
“Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they’re bringing him back, not to correct their error but to prosecute him,” he told NPR.
Sandoval-Moshenberg emphasized that due process should mean the opportunity to defend oneself before punishment, asserting that this instance constitutes an abuse of power rather than justice.
Originally from El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was living with his wife and children in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s notoriously dangerous CECOT prison in March.
This action took place despite a 2019 court order that prohibited his deportation due to fears of persecution.
The Trump administration has since acknowledged that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error,” but has also maintained that he is affiliated with the criminal gang MS-13, a claim his wife and attorneys vehemently deny.
The unsealed 10-page indictment alleges that Abrego Garcia is involved with the transnational criminal organization known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
It outlines his participation in over 100 trips smuggling individuals from Texas to Maryland, including unaccompanied minors and purported members of the gang.
Abrego Garcia’s deportation case has emerged as a focal point for both the Trump administration and immigration advocates, highlighting the ongoing debate surrounding accelerated deportations and potential violations of due process rights.
Following the announcement of Abrego Garcia’s return, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement asserting that the indictment disproves claims made by the Democratic Party and the media.
She emphasized the administration’s commitment to holding criminals accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
On March 12, the father of three was pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers while driving home from work in Baltimore.
Subsequently, he was deported just days later along with over 230 other immigrants and sent to CECOT prison.
By April 20, as documented in court filings, he had been transferred to a lower-security facility in El Salvador.
Having arrived unlawfully in the U.S. as a teenager, Abrego Garcia was granted protection from removal by an immigration judge in 2019, a decision that had not faced contest from government officials.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland has been overseeing the legal proceedings concerning Abrego Garcia’s deportation.
Judge Xinis, who was appointed by President Obama, ordered the government to facilitate his return last month.
The Justice Department had previously invoked the state secrets privilege in federal court to withhold information related to three deportation flights to El Salvador, including the flight on which Abrego Garcia was transported.
In a unanimous ruling issued on April 10, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that the government must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
However, the administration procrastinated, and even President Bukele of El Salvador refused to release him.
Notably, Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland traveled to El Salvador in late April in pursuit of Abrego Garcia’s release, with a number of other Democrats also advocating that the Trump administration’s actions constituted a violation of due process.
Federal prosecutors have indicated that they will request Abrego Garcia’s pre-trial custody due to him posing a danger to the community and representing a serious flight risk.
image source from：https://www.npr.org/2025/06/06/nx-s1-5425509/kilmar-abrego-garcia-el-salvador-deport-cecot-maryland-ice
