Kilmer Abrego Garcia leaves for check-in at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office on December 12, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland, the day after a federal judge ordered his release from custody in Pennsylvania.
Chip Somodevilla | getty images
A federal judge in Tennessee on Friday dismissed human trafficking charges against Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wrongful deportation by the Trump administration had become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Government that Abrego García was prosecuted by the Justice Department “vindictive“Finding that the government would not have pursued the case had he not challenged his deportation.
The decision marks a major legal victory for Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March despite a prior court order barring the U.S. government from sending him there because he could face persecution.
The Trump administration later brought Abrego García back to the US in June after the Supreme Court ordered authorities to facilitate his return. But prosecutors first secured a criminal charge charging him with human trafficking.
Abrego García pleaded innocent and argued that the charges were retaliation for his fight to return to the U.S. Crenshaw agreed, dealing a blow to the Justice Department in the Trump immigration case.
-This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.