Now, Kilmar Ábrego García, a young man who fled gang violence in El Salvador, is free. A federal court order resulted in his release from state criminal detention in Tennessee. He has finally been released after a long and turbulent legal saga. This saga started when he first crossed into the U.S. without permission circa 2011. In June, the Trump administration sent him back to El Salvador. Almost immediately after arresting him, federal authorities brought him up on dubious human smuggling crimes—which his lawyers have vigorously disputed and fought against.
García’s legal woes began back in March when—as President Biden’s administration repeatedly promised it wouldn’t—federal immigration officials deported him. Later the Trump administration would describe this action as an “administrative error.” Once back in El Salvador, García was incarcerated in the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot). There, he allegedly suffered severe physical and mental torture. His lawyers filed court documents in July detailing these allegations, which they claim further complicate the legitimacy of the charges against him.
On Friday, the court ordered García released from custody. He’s now free to return to his family in Maryland as he awaits his trial on felony smuggling charges scheduled to begin in January. His legal team has called the human smuggling allegations “preposterous,” claiming all along that García has simply been the focus of a politically motivated witch hunt.
“Today, Kilmar Ábrego García is free. He is presently en route to his family in Maryland, after being unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government’s vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law. He is grateful that his access to American courts has provided meaningful due process.” – Sean Hecker
The Trump administration for months has accused García of having connections with the MS-13 gang. But both he and his family have recently and violently denied these very claims. Though García now faces life-altering charges, as a victim of hate crimes, he was granted a federal protection order. This order stops him from being deported to El Salvador.