A federal judge in Tennessee has dismissed the human smuggling indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, ruling that prosecutors failed to overcome evidence suggesting the case was revived in retaliation after he successfully challenged his deportation to El Salvador.
In an order on Friday, May 22, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. of the Middle District of Tennessee granted Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss the indictment under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3)(A)(iv), throwing out both counts against him.
“The Court does not reach its conclusion lightly,” Crenshaw wrote in the accompanying memorandum opinion.
“The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution,” the Obama-appointed federal judge added.
Judge dismisses Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s human smuggling indictment
The ruling marks a major legal victory for Abrego Garcia, whose immigration case became a national flashpoint during President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown and deportation policies.
Federal prosecutors had charged Garcia with two counts of human smuggling stemming from a November 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, during which state highway patrol officers found multiple people inside his vehicle. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the court’s ruling, the Justice Department had originally closed its investigation into the traffic stop, only to reopen it after Garcia succeeded in challenging his deportation through a separate civil lawsuit.
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Crenshaw concluded prosecutors failed to rebut what the court described as a presumption of vindictive prosecution.
“The prosecutor’s subjective good faith does not cure the retaliatory taint,” the judge wrote.
The court further stated that the indictment ultimately provided the executive branch “cover” to comply with an earlier judicial order directing the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States after his deportation.
Abrego Garcia was removed from the United States in March 2025 and flown to El Salvador, where he was initially detained in a high-security prison despite an earlier immigration ruling prohibiting his deportation to his home country.
A Trump administration official later acknowledged the deportation had been carried out in error.
Case filed
Following his removal, Garcia filed a civil lawsuit in Maryland challenging the deportation.
In April 2025, a federal judge ordered the administration to facilitate his return to the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resisted the order for months before eventually returning him to Tennessee to face the criminal charges.
During a nearly six-hour evidentiary hearing earlier this year, Abrego’s attorneys argued the prosecution was politically motivated and closely tied to his successful legal challenge against the government.
Defense lawyers questioned government witnesses about when the Justice Department decided to revive the case and whether officials at the White House, DHS, or senior Justice Department leadership played a role in reopening the investigation.
Former federal prosecutor Robert McGuire testified that he independently decided to pursue charges because the evidence supported prosecution and denied being directed by outside officials.
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However, Garcia’s legal team introduced internal Justice Department communications suggesting senior officials viewed the matter as a “top priority” after his deportation challenge gained national attention.
In his opinion, Crenshaw said there was “insufficient evidence of actual vindictiveness” but concluded the government still failed to rebut the legal presumption that the prosecution was retaliatory.
“The record in the case does not explain the Government’s change in position to remove Abrego and not prosecute him to then prosecute and not remove him.”
The ruling also directly referenced the involvement of senior Justice Department officials, including then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who now serves as acting Attorney General.
According to the Obama-appointed federal judge, statements and actions involving Blanche and Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh “directly tie Main Justice” to the decision to reopen the investigation into the 2022 traffic stop.
The judge further stated that Singh’s involvement touched “everything from the timing of the indictment to the substance of the potential charges.”
With the indictment dismissed, the court also vacated Abrego’s release conditions and terminated all pending motions connected to the case.
The court additionally ordered the removal of several redactions previously requested by prosecutors from evidentiary filings.
