Kilmar Abrego Garcia returns to U.S., faces new federal charges
NEW YORK (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - A man who was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador earlier this year is now back on U.S. soil.
The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has raised Constitutional questions about the Trump Administration's use of power, but Abrego Garcia is now facing new federal charges.
Abrego Garcia has been brought back to the U.S. from a Salvadoran prison to face new charges he conspired to operate an MS-13 trafficking ring, transporting undocumented Central American migrants into the U.S.
"The grand jury found that over the past nine years Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring. They found this was his full time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women," said Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General.
The charges are the latest twist in a case that has twisted Washington.
In March, the 29-year-old was flown to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador in what the White House later admitted was a mistake.
But for months, the Trump Administration refused to correct it, despite a Supreme Court order to facilitate his return.
"He will never live in the United States of America again," said Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary.
President Donald Trump was asked Friday night about the release: "He should have never had to be returned."
Abrego Garcia's appeared in federal court in Tennessee Friday. His attorneys say they will fight the charges vigorously.
"What happened today is the exact opposite of due process, because due process means the opportunity to defend yourself before you're punished, not afterwards," said Simon Sandoval Moshenberg, an attorney.
Abrego Garcia is set to be back in court again next week.
If convicted, Abrego Garcia could face decades in a U.S. prison. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she expects that after a sentence, he would then be sent back to El Salvador.
