The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a federal appeals court on Monday to reinstate criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man previously accused of human smuggling. The filing seeks to reverse a lower court decision from May that dismissed the indictment after a judge determined the prosecution was vindictive.
The case originated from a November 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee conducted by the state Highway Patrol. Authorities reported finding numerous people in Abrego Garcia's vehicle, leading to two counts of human smuggling. Abrego Garcia, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, was deported to El Salvador last year, an action his legal team challenged as wrongful.
In the May ruling, a federal judge in Tennessee found that the DOJ had prosecuted Abrego Garcia in retaliation for his legal efforts to challenge that deportation. The DOJ contested this finding in its Monday filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, stating that career prosecutors sought the indictment based on evidence and a belief that the charges could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The DOJ argued in a news release that the lower court's dismissal represented a "dramatic expansion" of judicial power to dismiss charges based on "subjective assessments" of prosecutor motivations. The department maintained it had multiple legitimate bases for the prosecution. Abrego Garcia’s attorney has not yet provided a comment to CBS News regarding the latest filing.
For Abrego Garcia, the reversal would mean a return to criminal court proceedings for two counts of human smuggling. A person in this position would face the immediate resumption of legal fees, court appearances, and the possibility of a conviction. Separately, his residency status remains in flux; while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has attempted to deport him to Liberia, a federal judge in Maryland has blocked that action for now. This means his day-to-day life is characterized by simultaneous legal battles in two different federal court systems regarding his criminal record and his right to remain in the United States.
The outcome of this appeal will set a precedent for when a defendant can successfully claim they are being targeted for exercising their legal rights. If the higher court agrees with the DOJ, it may narrow the grounds on which federal charges can be dismissed for vindictiveness. The next step in the process is for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to review the DOJ's filing and any subsequent response from Abrego Garcia’s defense team. A specific date for a hearing or a ruling has not yet been reported.