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New Testimony Links Wrongfully Deported Maryland Resident to Migrant Smuggling

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, detained in El Salvador after being deported by the Trump administration, faces allegations of aiding human smuggling as the legal and political standoff over his repatriation intensifies.

A drone view of Los Nogales neighborhood, where Kilmar Abrego Garcia used to live, in San Marcos, El Salvador, on April 21.
President Donald Trump poses with a digitally altered image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckles, where the letters “MS-13” have been added above Garcia’s existing tattoos, in a Truth Social post made on April 21.
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Overview

  • Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, a convicted human smuggler, told the Department of Justice he hired Abrego Garcia multiple times to transport migrants across the U.S.
  • Abrego Garcia, deported in March despite a 2019 legal protection, remains in El Salvador despite a Supreme Court order for his return to the United States.
  • Bodycam footage from a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop shows Abrego Garcia transporting nine individuals without a valid driver’s license, with DHS suspecting human trafficking at the time.
  • Hernandez-Reyes, granted limited immunity for his testimony, claims he operated a Baltimore-based smuggling service and met Abrego Garcia in 2015.
  • The Trump administration continues to resist Supreme Court directives to repatriate Abrego Garcia, citing his alleged MS-13 ties and involvement in human trafficking.