The Justice Department requested a federal appeals court on August 18, 2026, to reinstate criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration last year. This request aims to reverse a lower court order that deemed the charges vindictive. In May, a federal judge in Tennessee dismissed the indictment against Abrego Garcia, who faced accusations of smuggling immigrants illegally into the U.S. The judge concluded that the prosecution was retaliatory due to Abrego Garcia's challenge against his wrongful deportation.
In its filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the Justice Department refuted claims of vindictiveness, asserting it had multiple legitimate reasons to pursue charges against Abrego Garcia. The department stated that the decision to indict him was made by career prosecutors based on evidence and legal standards, asserting that they believed there was sufficient proof of his offenses.
The Justice Department criticized the May court order, claiming it expanded judicial power to dismiss serious criminal charges based on subjective evaluations of a prosecutor's motives. In response, Abrego Garcia's defense team labeled the Justice Department's claims as incorrect, asserting that the indictment was indeed vindictive and that evidence presented in court supported this assertion. They also noted that the Justice Department did not call key decision-makers to testify under oath.
Abrego Garcia was charged with two counts of human smuggling following a traffic stop in Tennessee in November 2022, during which he was found with multiple individuals in his vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty. Additionally, he is involved in a separate federal case in Maryland concerning ongoing deportation efforts by the Trump administration, which aims to deport him to Liberia, although a federal judge has currently blocked this action.