Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been charged in the United States with transporting illegal immigrants, nearly three months after the Trump administration mistakenly deported him to El Salvador, his country of origin.
The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, during which officers suspected human trafficking. According to an April report from the Department of Homeland Security, none of the passengers in the vehicle had luggage, and all listed the same address as Abrego Garcia.
Despite the suspicious circumstances, Abrego Garcia was not charged at the time. Officers let him continue driving after issuing a warning for an expired driver’s license. The DHS report noted he was traveling from Texas to Maryland, via Missouri, to transport individuals for construction work.
Fox News Digital obtained bodycam footage from the stop, where troopers pulled over Kilmar Abrego Garcia for speeding. Inside his vehicle were eight other men, immediately raising red flags. “He’s hauling these people for money,” one trooper remarked.
During the stop, officers discovered $1,400 in cash and flagged Garcia in the National Crime Information Center, which returned a gang and terrorism alert. ICE was contacted but never responded to the scene, which came amid the Biden administration’s push to allow in as many illegal aliens as possible. The case has resurfaced following controversy in March, when Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador—a move criticized by many left-leaning politicians as unjust.