Defense: Vindictive Tennessee smuggling case tied to deportation

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland construction worker who was deported to El Salvador in March after a courtroom ruling barred his removal, is facing new criminal charges in Tennessee that his lawyers say amount to vindictive and selective prosecution meant to punish him for challenging his removal. In a 35-page filing to a Nashville federal judge, his defense team contends the government pursued the human-smuggling indictment only because he challenged the administration over the unlawful deportation and related due-process failures, a pattern they say renders the case illegitimate.

Abrego Garcia’s legal saga began with a decision that his deportation to El Salvador violated a 2019 immigration order designed to shield him from removal due to credible safety concerns. Despite that, he was taken from the United States and later returned after civil litigation culminated in a joint effort by Maryland judges and higher courts. Following his return, prosecutors in Tennessee charged him in May with involvement in a smuggling conspiracy based on a 2022 traffic stop in which he drove a vehicle carrying nine passengers, including some who were allegedly in the country illegally. His...