CHICAGO — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man at the center of a politically charged immigration case, is now back in the United States and facing federal charges of human smuggling, authorities confirmed Friday. The charges come months after his controversial deportation to El Salvador — a move his attorneys called a violation of his legal protections.
Garcia was returned to the U.S. and appeared in a federal court in Tennessee, where a grand jury indictment was unsealed. Attorney General Pam Bondi labeled him “a smuggler of humans and children and women.” His legal team is pushing back aggressively, calling the government’s claims “preposterous.”
From Construction Worker To Alleged Smuggler
According to federal prosecutors, Garcia was allegedly part of a large-scale human smuggling operation dating back to 2016. He is accused of moving undocumented immigrants across the country — including members of MS-13, a gang often cited by the Trump administration.
But Garcia’s attorneys paint a drastically different picture…