WASHINGTON D.C. – A Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March will be returned to the United States to face criminal charges.
A law enforcement source confirmed the development to CNN and said the move comes after an indictment on two charges in the Middle District of Tennessee: conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain.
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Abrego Garcia’s deportation to an El Salvadorian prison back in March sparked a legal battle between the Trump administration and the courts.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S. from El Salvador, rejecting the White House’s claim that it couldn’t retrieve Abrego Garcia after mistakenly deporting him.
Trump administration officials said he was deported based on a 2019 accusation from Maryland police he was an MS-13 gang member. Abrego Garcia denied the allegation and was never charged with a crime, his attorneys said.
A U.S. immigration judge subsequently shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faced persecution there by local gangs. The Trump administration deported him there anyway, later describing the mistake as “an administrative error” but insisting he was in MS-13.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.