A federal judge on Friday dismissed the criminal human smuggling case brought by the Department of Justice against Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The judge granted Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution.
Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March of last year to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he denies.
He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, after which U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis released him from ICE detention while he was awaiting trial.
In December, a court order in the Tennessee case revealed that a top DOJ official called Abrego Garcia’s prosecution “a top priority” shortly after he was mistakenly deported — potentially contradicting the Trump administration’s claims that the decision to prosecute Abrego Garcia was made by local prosecutors, a federal judge said.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives at the federal courthouse, Feb. 26, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.
George Walker IV/AP
Abrego Garcia had been scheduled to go to trial on the Tennessee charges, to which he pleaded not guilty, in January.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.