US judge dismisses indictment against Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego
Key takeaways
- The Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June after the US Supreme Court ordered the government to facilitate his return.
- Abrego pleaded not guilty and argued he was being prosecuted in retaliation for suing the government to be returned.
- US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tennessee, wrote that the Justice Department only reopened its human smuggling probe stemming from a 2022 traffic stop after Abrego filed his lawsuit.
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Add ARY News on Google AAResize A US judge dismissed an indictment against Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego on Friday, finding that the Trump administration would not have prosecuted him had he not challenged his deportation.
Abrego, who entered the United States illegally, became a symbol of the Trump administration’s drive for mass deportations when he was sent to a megaprison in El Salvador in March despite a prior court order barring him from being returned there because of a risk of persecution.
The Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June after the US Supreme Court ordered the government to facilitate his return. His return came only after prosecutors secured a criminal indictment charging Abrego with human smuggling.