The judge said prosecutors retaliated against Abrego after he brought a lawsuit challenging his deportation to El Salvador.
A federal judge in Tennessee on May 22 dismissed criminal human smuggling charges pending against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on the grounds of vindictive prosecution.
The Salvadoran national’s separate immigration case attracted attention across the country, including widespread protests, after the federal government detained him in March 2025 and transported him to El Salvador’s maximum security prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center, along with an airplane full of other deportees. He was later returned to the United States, where he has had long-running legal battles with the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. granted Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss, saying “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.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
