DOJ to appeal dismissal of human trafficking charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Source: WTOP

DOJ to appeal dismissal of human trafficking charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Alan Etter | alan.etter@wtop.com
June 22, 2026, 9:10 PM

The U.S. Department of Justice will appeal a judge’s ruling dismissing human trafficking charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to a prison in his native El Salvador in March of 2025 then ordered returned to the U.S., where he was again detained and accused of human smuggling.

In a notice issued Monday, hours before an appeals deadline, the DOJ said it would appeal the dismissal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio. ... The Tennessee judge who dismissed the human trafficking charges said he did so because they were brought “selectively and vindictively.”

Abrego Garcia was in a van in 2022 that was stopped by Tennessee State Police. Several people in the van could not provide identification or proof of citizenship, but they were let go at the time with a warning. The case was eventually dropped but revived after Abrego Garcia was ordered returned to the U.S. from El Salvador.

The Trump administration admitted Abrego Garcia’s initial deportation was a clerical error but continued to insist, without proof, that he was a member of the MS-13 criminal gang. ... Now the government is expected to request that the dismissal ruling be dissolved as it attempts to deport him again — possibly to Liberia or another country.

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Read more: https://wtop.com/maryland/2026/06/d-o-j-to-appeal-dismissal-of-human-trafficking-charges-against-maryland-man-wrongly-deported-in-2025/