WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled on Friday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged member of the MS-13 gang, is entitled to another court hearing. This decision follows concerns that the US Department of Justice may have conducted a “vindictive” human trafficking prosecution aimed at deporting him back to El Salvador.
Judge Waverly Crenshaw of Nashville’s US District Court mandated the additional hearing, citing evidence of potential vindictiveness presented by Abrego Garcia’s defense team regarding the DOJ’s actions to extradite him from El Salvador to face trafficking charges.
Previously, a federal judge in Maryland ordered that Abrego Garcia be returned to the United States after his wrongful deportation on April 4. However, DOJ attorneys contended in later filings that they complied with parts of the court’s ruling upheld by the Supreme Court.
Judge Crenshaw noted that the timeline of the prosecution “suggests that Abrego’s charges may be retaliatory” as a consequence of his successful challenge against his unlawful deportation in Maryland, according to his detailed 16-page ruling.
The judge highlighted comments made by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who appeared to connect Abrego’s criminal charges to his civil lawsuits in Maryland during a June 2025 Fox News interview.
“Notably, during a televised interview, Deputy Attorney General Blanche stated that the government began to ‘investigate’ Abrego following a Maryland judge’s scrutiny of the government’s actions, asserting they had unlawfully deported him and accusing the government of misconduct,” Crenshaw noted.
The judge further stated, “The totality of events indicates a realistic likelihood of vindictiveness, which justifies the need for discovery and an evidentiary hearing.”
A federal grand jury had charged the 29-year-old in Tennessee on May 21 with conspiracy to transport illegal migrants from countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador into Texas.
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Afterwards, many of these individuals were trafficked to Maryland, where Abrego Garcia had been living until his wrongful deportation to the notorious Salvadoran prison CECOT in March. This was alongside other alleged gang affiliates and individuals from other states, according to the indictment.
During the Trump administration, an immigration judge had granted him a “withholding of removal” order, which prevented his return solely to El Salvador due to fears of persecution from a rival gang.
Having crossed into the US illegally in 2012, records from Maryland and information from local law enforcement indicate his connection to MS-13, a gang that rivals the Salvadoran gang Barrio-18.
Jennifer Sura, his wife, had previously sought judicial protection against him due to alleged domestic violence, although both have denied his affiliation with MS-13.
The ongoing case has stirred significant backlash against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, leading to legal challenges across various jurisdictions. Yet, a federal immigration judge upheld the final order of removal on Thursday, dismissing the most recent attempt to reopen Abrego Garcia’s deportation case.
This ruling marked the second denial of asylum for Abrego Garcia, following a late 2019 decision that also rejected his request for legal status but allowed for a “withholding of removal” to El Salvador.
As the federal trafficking case progressed, footage surfaced showing Abrego Garcia being stopped while driving seven passengers—none of whom had luggage—during a trip from Texas to Maryland. A state trooper was recorded remarking that he “was transporting these individuals for money,” while Abrego Garcia possessed $1,400 in cash at the time of the stop.
He was initially released with a citation for an expired license without charges, but more than 900 days later, he was indicted for human trafficking after being arrested in March 2025 in Baltimore, subsequently being sent to two detention centers in El Salvador before ultimately being returned to the US.
Currently, Abrego Garcia is being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
