Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly incarcerated in El Salvador before returning to the United States last week, entered a not guilty plea on Friday regarding human smuggling charges.
During his arraignment at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Abrego Garcia faced accusations of conspiracy to illegally transport aliens for profit, as well as unlawful transportation of undocumented individuals for financial gain.
This arraignment forms part of an ongoing legal saga lasting over three months, initiated when the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia, a legal permanent resident in the U.S., to a high-security prison in El Salvador due to what officials labeled an “administrative error.”
Neither Abrego Garcia’s attorneys nor representatives from the Justice Department have responded to requests for comments.
The 29-year-old was apprehended in Maryland on March 12 and subsequently transferred to a facility notorious for housing individuals whom the Trump administration alleged were gang affiliates. The government has claimed that Abrego Garcia is linked to the gang MS-13, an allegation he and his legal team have consistently refuted.
In April, a federal judge ruled that Abrego Garcia should be returned to the U.S., a decision supported by the Supreme Court, which instructed the administration to “facilitate” his return. Despite these legal directives, the Trump administration delayed his repatriation for months. Finally, last week, Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. to address the smuggling charges.
His attorneys contended in recent court filings that he poses no flight risk and that the conditions for his continued detention have not been met. The government has leveled serious accusations against Abrego Garcia, claiming involvement in drug and firearm trafficking, domestic abuse, and participation in a murder in El Salvador; however, he has not been formally charged with these offenses.
Last week, a judge cautioned federal prosecutors that they could not legally detain someone based on mere allegations.
Abrego Garcia’s situation has already led to significant consequences, prompting the resignation of Ben Schrader, the former chief of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. “It has been an incredible privilege to serve as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where the only job description I’ve ever known is to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons,” Schrader expressed on social media last week.
On the eve of Friday’s arraignment, Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, held a press conference where she conveyed a message from her husband to reporters.
“‘To all the families still fighting to be reunited after a family separation, or if you too are in detention, Kilmar wants you to have faith,’” she shared. “‘These dark times are where we’re facing all the tribulations that God has put in our path. But keep praying and keep fighting that the light will always come, will come soon for all of us, and you too will be able to see your family again.’”