Kilmar Abrego Garcia: Judge dismisses criminal case against man wrongfully deported by Trump administration

A US judge has dismissed a criminal case against a man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration last year.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was facing allegations of human smuggling, but a court ruled that the Justice Department's charges were designed to punish him.

The 30-year-old's deportation became an embarrassment for Trump officials when the Supreme Court ordered them to bring him back to the US.

Mr Abrego Garcia had been accused of accepting money to transport people who were in the country illegally.

The charges relate to a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding, when he was pulled over with nine passengers in his car.

Body camera footage showed he had a calm exchange with officers and was eventually allowed to continue driving with a warning.

On Friday, Mr Abrego Garcia's motion to dismiss for "selective or vindictive prosecution" was granted in Tennessee.

"The evidence before this court sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power," US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw said in the ruling.

Dismissing the claims of "new evidence", the judge concluded the prosecution would not have been brought without his "successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador".

Lawyers representing Mr Abrego Garcia said: "[He] is a victim of a politicised, vindictive White House and its lawyers at what used to be an independent Justice Department. We are so pleased he is a free man."

Judge Crenshaw stopped short of finding the government acted with "actual vindictiveness" - but said there was enough evidence to suggest the case was thoroughly tainted.

The Justice Department has pushed back, and said: "Another activist judge has placed politics above public safety. The judge's order is wrong and dangerous, and we will appeal."

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Mr Abrego Garcia's removal from the US had violated an order made by an immigration court in 2019, which granted him protection from being deported to El Salvador.

At the time, a judge had found he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family. He was granted permission to live and work in the States, but not residency status.

The Salvadoran citizen had immigrated illegally to the US as a teenager, and lived in Maryland with an American wife and their child.

Trump administration officials have insisted that Mr Abrego Garcia cannot remain on American soil and have vowed to deport him to Liberia instead.

The ruling amounts to an extraordinary rebuke for the Justice Department, which has been accused of targeting defendants for political purposes with Donald Trump in power.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, said the dismissal of the criminal charges made clear that this was a vindictive prosecution "that should disturb all Americans".

(c) Sky News 2026: Kilmar Abrego Garcia: Judge dismisses criminal case against man wrongfully deported