Kilmer Abrego Garcia, a man who was wrongfully deported, is set to dismiss his criminal case in Tennessee. He claims he is facing a vindictive prosecution by the Trump administration.
The motion has been filed by individuals who feel they have been unjustly targeted by the prosecutor, while others in similar situations have not faced charges.
“Kilmer Abrego Garcia was specifically targeted by the U.S. government. The reasons aren’t hard to decipher. It’s not because of the severity of his alleged actions, nor because he poses any real threat to the nation. The charges stem from his refusal to abandon his legitimate rights,” his lawyer stated.
“Instead of correcting their errors and allowing Abrego to return to the U.S., the government has fought at every level of the federal court system, and, notably, Abrego has succeeded in each instance.”
The filing highlights perceived irregularities in the case as noted by the Chief Prosecutor. The lawsuit, based on political motives, involves a key government witness who had received permission to work despite a history of repeated deportations.
After being granted protection from deportation by an immigration judge in 2019, Abrego Garcia ended up in a notorious prison in El Salvador due to claimed administrative mistakes. Following this situation, a Justice Department lawyer lost their job and was later hospitalized.
After extensive legal efforts from his family, during which they argued that the Trump administration lacked the authority to retrieve him from El Salvador, Abrego was brought back to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
Currently, he is dealing with traffic charges resulting from a 2022 stop in Tennessee for speeding, where he was reportedly transporting someone without proper documentation.
The indictment suggests that Abrego inadvertently informed officers he was driving a construction worker from St. Louis, even though he was allegedly involved in transporting undocumented immigrants during that trip.
Abrego’s legal team mentions that he hasn’t received any tickets or further charges stemming from the suspension of his driver’s license, and that the Tennessee Highway Patrol subsequently did not pursue the matter.
“Traffic stops became increasingly significant to the government in April and May of this year, coinciding with a newfound determination to penalize Mr. Abrego, thus becoming central to the government’s emerging investigation,” they asserted.
The submission also alludes to the Trump administration’s interactions with individuals who accused Abrego of human trafficking, including someone currently undocumented in the U.S. and who has been deported multiple times.
“The government seems intent on constructing a criminal case against Abrego. They’ve described him merely as a driver involved in smuggling conspiracies, looking for collaboration from associated individuals who are already named and interacting with Abrego.”
“The arrangement has been made for his five-month sentence to be shortened, allowing for early release to a halfway house.”
The filing heavily references the whistleblower disclosures from the fired DOJ lawyer, Erez Roubeni. These documents reveal discussions among Trump administration officials about portraying Abrego Garcia as a gang member, despite challenges from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in substantiating such claims.
“Just days after Abrego’s complaints on March 27th, discussions arose regarding the demand for his return from El Salvador. They also considered branding him as a member of the MS-13 gang.”
“In fact, when State Department officials indicated that the records supposedly backing ICE’s MS-13 claims involved extensive information not cited in Tennessee, it raises questions about the validity of labeling him as a gang member.”
