A U.S. federal judge has dismissed the indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant whose case drew national attention after he was mistakenly deported from the United States.
Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled that the U.S. Department of Justice reopened the investigation into Abrego Garcia only after he challenged his deportation in court, raising concerns that the prosecution may have been retaliatory in nature.
Abrego Garcia had been charged with human smuggling following a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. However, the court stated that prosecutors failed to show that the case was pursued independently of political or retaliatory motives.
His lawyers welcomed the ruling, arguing that the charges were filed because he fought against his deportation to El Salvador, despite a previous court order that had protected him from removal due to threats from gangs in his home country.
The U.S. Justice Department criticized the decision and announced plans to appeal, describing the ruling as “incorrect and dangerous.”
The case has become a major point of debate in the United States over immigration enforcement, deportation procedures, and the rights of migrants facing removal from the country.