Federal prosecutor defends smuggling charges against Abrego Garcia

A federal prosecutor acknowledged Thursday that the decision to charge Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia two years after a routine traffic stop was “extraordinary” while defending the human trafficking case as legally justified.

Abrego Garcia, 31, has become a flashpoint in the national immigration debate since last March, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order in what Trump administration officials acknowledged was an “administrative error.”

The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration should work to bring him back to the United States.

After returning in June, Abrego Garcia was taken into federal custody in Nashville and held on human trafficking charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.

He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking dismissal of the charges against him on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, are joined by Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, right, of We Are Casa, as they leave the federal courthouse Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A 2019 court order prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge determined he was threatened by a gang that had threatened his family. He immigrated to the United States illegally as a teenager and came under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Abrego Garcia was accused in court records of repeated domestic violence against his wife, who alleged multiple incidents of physical violence in applications for a protection order. She later withdrew her request for a protection order and publicly defended her husband.

The Department of Homeland Security also said he was living in the United States illegally and alleged ties to MS-13, disputing portrayals of him as simply a “Maryland man.” His lawyers have denied the gang allegations.

Tennessee Highway Patrol body camera footage from the time Abrego Garcia was stopped for speeding shows a calm exchange with officers. As officers discussed suspected contraband among themselves – noting that there were nine passengers in the vehicle – Abrego Garcia received only a warning.

TENNESSEE TRAFFIC CONTROL BODYCAM “MARYLAND MAN” SHOWS SOLDIERS’ HANDS BOUND DESPITE CLUES OF CONTRABAND

A woman holds a sign in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. (Getty Images)

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire, who was acting U.S. attorney in April 2025, said Thursday that his decision to charge Abrego Garcia was based on evidence.

“I had already prosecuted several human trafficking cases,” McGuire said, noting that after seeing the traffic stop video, “I was immediately struck by the similarity of what was shown on the body camera to those investigations.”

McGuire said Abrego Garcia’s vehicle belonged to someone with “a history of human trafficking” and added that the route was “suspicious.”

“It was a large number of individuals traveling in an SUV with a driver who spoke on behalf of the group. No one had any luggage…the car had Texas license plates…the route was suspicious,” McGuire said.

DEM JUDGE IN HOT SEAT AFTER DHS EXPOSES “WHOLY NEW LEVEL” OF ACTIVISM, SHELTERING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived at the federal courthouse Thursday for a hearing on whether to dismiss the charges against him. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Under cross-examination, McGuire acknowledged that the timing of the charges, so long after the traffic stop, was “extraordinary.”

He said he was not aware of the traffic stop beforehand, but reiterated that no one in the Trump administration, including the White House or the Justice Department, had pressured him to seek the indictment.

Asked if he might have felt pressure to pursue the case, McGuire said, “I’m not going to do something wrong to keep my job.”

DHS OFFICIAL RIPS KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA FOR ‘MAKING TIKTOKS’ WHILE AGENCY FACES GAG ORDER

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stéphanie Scarbrough)

McGuire also said the timing of charging Abrego Garcia was a consideration given that he was detained in El Salvador and he did not want the indictment made public until all senior officials were briefed on the matter.

“I knew from the start that this was going to be a controversial issue,” McGuire said.

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw did not issue a ruling Thursday and said he would wait to receive post-hearing briefs from attorneys by March 5 before determining whether another hearing is necessary.

Crenshaw previously found evidence that the lawsuits “could be vindictive” and that past statements by Trump administration officials “raised concerns.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Thursday’s court appearance came after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from rearresting Abrego Garcia in federal immigration custody on February 17.

Breanne Deppisch and Jake Gibson of Fox News Digital and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related article