WASHINGTON — In a decisive blow to the Trump-era immigration agenda, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw dismissed all criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia today, declaring the prosecution was 'vindictive' retaliation for his successful lawsuit challenging his wrongful deportation. The ruling follows Abrego Garcia's release from federal custody after being held in El Salvador's infamous CECOT megaprison for months, where he was detained on false accusations of being an MS-13 gang member.
Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old married to a U.S. citizen who has lived in Maryland for years, was illegally brought to America as a teenager. After being granted protection from deportation in 2019 due to MS-13 gang threats in El Salvador, he was secretly deported by the Trump administration in March 2023 and held in CECOT—a prison housing thousands of inmates—while the government sought to justify its actions.
'The Court does not reach its conclusion lightly,' Crenshaw wrote in her opinion. 'The objective evidence shows that, absent Abrego's successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution.' The judge noted prosecutors only reopened the 2022 Tennessee traffic stop investigation after Abrego won his court battle to return to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia was arrested in June 2023 upon his return to the U.S. and charged with human smuggling over a traffic stop incident. During the trial, his lawyers argued the charges were political. 'The Executive Branch closed its investigation on the November 2022 traffic stop. Only after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his rights did the Executive Branch reopen that investigation,' the ruling states.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen celebrated the dismissal on X: 'Today, a federal judge determined what we've known all along—the Trump admin was engaged in a vindictive prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. This is a win for all our rights & the Constitution.'
The case has become a flashpoint in the debate over immigration policy. Abrego Garcia was held in a Baltimore immigration detention center after a second arrest in August 2023, with reports emerging that the Trump administration considered sending him to Uganda. His attorneys have since secured a federal judge's order barring removal to any third country.
'He stood before us as a free man after years of being targeted for political reasons,' said Abrego Garcia's lawyer, who confirmed the case will be dismissed with prejudice. 'This verdict signals the end of a dangerous pattern of using immigration prosecutions to stifle due process.'
The ruling adds to growing legal challenges against the Trump administration's deportation practices, with civil rights groups calling the case 'a critical victory for constitutional rights in immigration proceedings.'}
Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old married to a U.S. citizen who has lived in Maryland for years, was illegally brought to America as a teenager. After being granted protection from deportation in 2019 due to MS-13 gang threats in El Salvador, he was secretly deported by the Trump administration in March 2023 and held in CECOT—a prison housing thousands of inmates—while the government sought to justify its actions.
'The Court does not reach its conclusion lightly,' Crenshaw wrote in her opinion. 'The objective evidence shows that, absent Abrego's successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution.' The judge noted prosecutors only reopened the 2022 Tennessee traffic stop investigation after Abrego won his court battle to return to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia was arrested in June 2023 upon his return to the U.S. and charged with human smuggling over a traffic stop incident. During the trial, his lawyers argued the charges were political. 'The Executive Branch closed its investigation on the November 2022 traffic stop. Only after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his rights did the Executive Branch reopen that investigation,' the ruling states.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen celebrated the dismissal on X: 'Today, a federal judge determined what we've known all along—the Trump admin was engaged in a vindictive prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. This is a win for all our rights & the Constitution.'
The case has become a flashpoint in the debate over immigration policy. Abrego Garcia was held in a Baltimore immigration detention center after a second arrest in August 2023, with reports emerging that the Trump administration considered sending him to Uganda. His attorneys have since secured a federal judge's order barring removal to any third country.
'He stood before us as a free man after years of being targeted for political reasons,' said Abrego Garcia's lawyer, who confirmed the case will be dismissed with prejudice. 'This verdict signals the end of a dangerous pattern of using immigration prosecutions to stifle due process.'
The ruling adds to growing legal challenges against the Trump administration's deportation practices, with civil rights groups calling the case 'a critical victory for constitutional rights in immigration proceedings.'}
