Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant returned to the US last week after being wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador, pleaded not guilty on Friday to criminal charges of taking part in a conspiracy to smuggle migrants into the United States.
Mr Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, William Allensworth, entered the not guilty plea on his behalf at a hearing in Nashville, Tennessee, before US magistrate judge Barbara Holmes. At the hearing, Mr Abrego Garcia (29) is also expected to contest a bid by federal prosecutors to have him detained pending trial.
US president Donald Trump’s administration has portrayed the indictment of Mr Abrego Garcia as vindication of its aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. Before Mr Abrego Garcia’s indictment was unsealed on June 5th, officials alleged he was a member of the MS-13 gang and said they would not bring him back.
The justice department’s decision to return him to the US to face criminal charges is a potential off-ramp for the Trump administration from its escalating confrontation with the judiciary over whether it complied with a court order to facilitate Mr Abrego Garcia’s return.
The Republican president’s critics say his swift removal without a hearing showed the administration prioritised increased deportations over due process – the bedrock principle that people in the US, whether citizens or not, can contest governmental actions against them in the courts.
“You are presumed innocent, and it is the government’s burden to prove at trial that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” Ms Holmes said, addressing Mr Abrego Garcia.
The criminal proceeding will provide Mr Abrego Garcia with due process by giving him the right to contest the charges contained in a grand jury indictment returned in secret on May 21st. Still, his lawyers say his return to face criminal charges does not absolve the Trump administration of responsibility for wrongfully deporting him.
In the indictment, Mr Abrego Garcia was charged with working with at least five co-conspirators as part of a smuggling ring to bring immigrants to the US illegally, then transport them from the US-Mexico border to destinations across the country. The indictment alleges that Mr Abrego Garcia often picked up migrants in Houston, making more than 100 trips between Texas and Maryland between 2016 and 2025.
Mr Abrego Garcia is also accused of transporting firearms and drugs.
Prosecutors say Mr Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident whose wife and young child are US citizens, could face 10 years in prison for each migrant he smuggled. That means he could spend the rest of his life in jail if convicted, according to prosecutors.
They are urging he be detained, saying the potentially hefty sentence means he may try to flee. They also say detention is warranted because he allegedly murdered a rival gang member’s mother in El Salvador and solicited child pornography, though those accusations are not part of his indictment.
Mr Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have called the charges “fantastical” and deny he is a flight risk. —Reuters
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