Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the man at the center of a political and legal maelstrom after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, was flown back to the United States on Friday to face charges of transporting undocumented migrants.
The stunning move by the Trump administration, after months of fighting any effort to return him, could end the most high-profile court battle over President Trump’s authority to rapidly seize and deport immigrants.
“Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a news conference in Washington.
In recent weeks, a supervisor in the federal prosecutor’s office in Nashville resigned over how the case was handled, these people said.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and is now at the center of a legal and political storm, was flown back to the United States on Friday to face charges related to transporting undocumented migrants.
After months of opposing any attempt to repatriate him, the Trump administration’s shocking action may put a stop to the most well-known legal dispute concerning President Trump’s power to quickly detain and deport foreign nationals.
The Trump administration, which had vehemently opposed court orders requiring the government to take action to return Mr. Abrego Garcia after his wrongful removal in March, may find an offramp in the decision to remove him from El Salvador and try him in an American courtroom.
Filed in May in Federal District Court in Nashville and unsealed Friday, the 10-page indictment may also be an attempt to save face. By bringing Mr. Abrego Garcia back to face criminal charges, the White House may be able to avoid a more extensive legal battle that was increasingly moving toward questions about whether officials of the Trump administration should be held in contempt of court.
“Abrego Garcia has arrived in the United States to face justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi declared during a press conference in Washington. He was a human, child, and female smuggler. “.”.
“This is what justice looks like in America,” she continued. “.”.
According to two people with knowledge of the case, the recent disclosure of information about Mr. Dot Abrego Garcia by an imprisoned man marked a major advancement in the investigation; however, prosecutors were divided and worried about the next steps. A supervisor in the Nashville federal prosecutor’s office resigned in recent weeks due to the way the case was handled, according to these people.
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