Justice Department Appeals Dismissal of Charges Against Kilmer Abrego Garcia

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is aiming to reinstate criminal charges against Kilmer Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, after a federal appeals court motion claimed that a district judge made an error in dismissing the case back in May.

In a statement submitted to the Sixth Circuit, the DOJ asserted that the human smuggling charges against Abrego Garcia are still valid and denied any claims that those charges were filed as retaliation for his legal challenges following his deportation to El Salvador last year.

This appeal is in response to a ruling made by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr., who had dismissed a 2022 charge related to human smuggling. The judge described the Justice Department’s actions as stemming from “presumptive vengeance.”

According to Judge Crenshaw, had Abrego Garcia not sued the government over his deportation in 2025, he wouldn’t have faced criminal charges.

The Justice Department emphasized that the decision to charge Abrego Garcia was made by experienced prosecutors based on the evidence at hand, asserting that they believed there was ample proof beyond a reasonable doubt of his guilt. They also argued that the district court’s findings incorrectly suggest that the motivations of the prosecutors were vindictive, stating that the evidence showed Abrego Garcia had committed a serious crime.

They further expressed concern that Judge Crenshaw’s ruling represents an unnecessary expansion of the court’s authority to dismiss significant criminal charges based on personal views of prosecutors’ motives, which they feel oversteps judicial boundaries.

In light of the allegations, Abrego Garcia’s attorney countered by saying that the DOJ was mistaken in its claims. They argued that the circumstances surrounding his indictment and prosecution actually demonstrate vindictiveness, a point that Judge Crenshaw’s evidence purported to support. The defense highlighted the unavailability of key decision-makers for testimony.

Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. without authorization from El Salvador as a teenager, eventually settling in Maryland and marrying a U.S. citizen. In 2019, he was granted temporary protection status due to concerns over his safety back home.

However, in March 2025, federal immigration officials relocated him to a high-security facility in El Salvador as part of an intensified enforcement agreement. Following a federal court’s order for his return, he was extradited back to the U.S., where he faced federal charges for human trafficking linked to evidence gathered during a law enforcement stop in 2022.