Abrego Garcia Wins Dismissal of US Human-Smuggling Case (1)

A federal judge in Tennessee dismissed human-smuggling charges against Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia after concluding the US government brought the case in retaliation for his legal fight against being deported.

US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. said in his 32-page ruling Friday that the government “would not have brought this prosecution” if Abrego Garcia hadn’t filed a lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador. The human-smuggling case was filed after a court ordered Abrego Garcia returned to the US.

“The evidence before this court sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power,” Crenshaw said in his ruling.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura.

Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images

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