Kelmar Abrego Garcia asks a US judge to drop criminal charges, saying the Trump administration’s case is retaliatory

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys for Kelmar Abrego Garcia will try to convince a federal judge in Tennessee on Thursday to dismiss human trafficking charges against him.

Abrego Garcia, whose wrongful deportation has galvanized both sides of the immigration debate, claims the criminal prosecution is retaliatory, pushed by officials from President Donald Trump’s administration to punish him after they were forced to return him to the United States.

Read more: The judge ruled that immigration authorities could not redetain Kelmar Abrego Garcia

While Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen, a 2019 court order prevents his deportation to that country. That’s because an immigration judge determined he faced danger in El Salvador from a gang that threatened his family. Abrego Garcia, 30, immigrated to the United States illegally as a teenager but has an American wife and child. He has lived and worked in Maryland for years under the supervision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

After he was deported to El Salvador last year, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must work to return him. He was eventually returned to the United States only to face felony human smuggling charges based on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty.

Read more: Kelmar Abrego Garcia was released from an immigration detention center after a judge ordered his release

Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows a calm exchange with Abrego Garcia after he was pulled over for speeding. There were nine passengers in the car, and the officers discussed suspicions of smuggling among themselves. However, Abrego Garcia was eventually allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw previously found some evidence suggesting that the prosecution against Abrego Garcia “may be retaliatory.” The judge said many of the statements by Trump administration officials were “concerning.” He cited a statement by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that seemed to indicate that the Justice Department charged Abrego Garcia because he won his wrongful deportation case.

Read more: After the wrongful deportation, Kelmar Abrego Garcia now faces smuggling charges

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have been wrangling with prosecutors for months over whether officials like Blanche will have to testify at Thursday’s hearing and what emails Justice Department officials should turn over to them. First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, Rob McGuire, said he made the decision to prosecute on his own, so the motives of other officials were irrelevant.

Crenshaw reviewed many of the disputed documents. In an order unsealed in late December, he wrote: “Certain documents indicate that McGuire was not only a sole decision-maker, but that he actually informed others at the Department of Justice, and the decision to prosecute Abrego may have been a joint decision.”