- Kilmar Abrego Garcia was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tennessee for allegedly smuggling migrants into the country illegally.
- He will be returned to the U.S. due to cooperation from El Salvador's president.
- The current indictment against him includes two felony counts.
After being deported two months ago by the Trump administration, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, is on his way back to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
Abrego Garcia, 29, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tennessee on charges related to an alleged decadelong conspiracy to transport migrants in the country illegally across the United States, per Fox News. His indictment includes two felony counts.
The indictment comes more than two months after the Trump administration admitted to mistakenly deporting Abrego Garcia from Maryland to El Salvador, per ABC.
The Trump administration said his deportation stemmed from MS-13 gang affiliations, but his lawyers dispute the gang connection, per Fox News.
What Abrego Garcia is being charged with
According to Fox News, Abrego Garcia allegedly smuggled immigrants who had entered the country illegally to interior states from Texas, in an organized operation that the courts say goes back years.
The indictment said he “knowingly and unlawfully transported thousands of undocumented aliens who had no authorization to be present in the United States, and many of whom were MS-13 members and associates,” per CNN.
There were no others allegedly involved in the conspiracy charged in the indictment.
Among those allegedly trafficked by Abrego Garcia were children.
The indictment states that he transported these people from Mexico and Central America in exchange for thousands of dollars, per ABC News. It is alleged that Abrego Garcia participated in over 100 such trips.
Pam Bondi speaks on Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S.
During a press conference on Friday where she announced the return of Abrego Garcia, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for his cooperation. She also explained what Abrego Garcia has been charged with and emphasized the alleged ties to MS-13.