DOJ asks appeals court to reinstate human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The Department of Justice has asked an appeals court to reinstate a criminal human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, following a federal judge's May ruling that dismissed the charges. In May, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled that the government had failed to rebut Abrego Garcia's presumption of vindictiveness, which required the dismissal of the indictment.

Attorneys for the DOJ have now filed a brief urging the appellate court to overturn Judge Crenshaw's ruling, arguing that the decision to indict Abrego Garcia was supported by legitimate reasons. The DOJ maintains that the decision to seek an indictment against Abrego Garcia was based on evidence, the law, and their strong belief that he had committed the offenses charged.

Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his family, was deported to El Salvador in March despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation due to a fear of persecution. He was subsequently returned to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, after which Judge Paula Xinis released him from ICE detention pending trial.

Judge Crenshaw noted the involvement of high-ranking DOJ officials in the case, citing then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's public statements, and concluded that the government could not justify its shift from wanting to deport Abrego Garcia to prosecuting him. The DOJ argues that Blanche's comments in an interview do not reflect a vindictive motive and that his statement does not support the inference that charges were pursued solely to retaliate against Abrego Garcia for his civil suit.