Justice Department Appeals Dismissal of Smuggling Charges

The Justice Department is moving to appeal a federal judge's dismissal of human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man whose mistaken deportation and subsequent prosecution became a focal point of immigration policy debates. Federal prosecutors filed a notice of appeal on Monday, seeking to revive the case after U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled in May that the charges amounted to vindictive prosecution.

Judge Crenshaw, seated in Nashville, Tennessee, dismissed the two-count indictment, concluding the government brought the case in retaliation for Abrego Garcia's successful legal challenge to his deportation. In his ruling, Crenshaw wrote that the objective evidence shows the prosecution would not have occurred absent that lawsuit, calling it an abuse of prosecuting power. The Justice Department has called the dismissal wrong and dangerous, though its notice of appeal did not outline specific legal arguments.

The case stems from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee where Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding while transporting several men. He was not arrested or charged at that time. The charges were filed in June 2025, the same day he was...