DOJ Officials Said Indicting Kilmar Abrego Garcia Was a 'Top Priority' After He Was Returned To The U.S.

Top Department of Justice (DOJ) officials sought to indict Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the push was a "top priority" after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and ordered to return to the U.S., according to a new report.

Abrego Garcia has pledged not guilty to human smuggling charges in Tennessee, AP News noted. His defense argues that the prosecution constitutes retaliation for the fact that his mistaken deportation dominated headlines and put the Trump administration in hot water until his return.

His team has also asked the government to turn over documents showing that the decision to prosecute him took place in 2025 even though the incident for which he is being accused happened three years prior.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw found there was "some evidence" that the prosecution could be vindictive. Rob McGuire, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee until late December, said any claim was irrelevant because the decision to prosecute Abrego Garcia was his and he didn't have any animosity toward him.

However, Crenshaw said that "some of the documents suggest not only that McGuire was not a solitary decision-maker, but he in fact reported to others in DOJ and the decision to prosecute Abrego may have been a joint decision."

Abrego Garcia was released earlier this month after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis determined that the government detained him "without lawful authority."

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who has lived in the United States for nearly 15 years, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March despite a court order protecting him from being returned there.

He was brought back to the United States in June after the Supreme Court declined to intervene in his case, and he later pleaded not guilty to federal smuggling charges in Nashville. After a Tennessee judge allowed his release, ICE immediately detained him again and pursued removal to several third countries.

Court filings show the administration proposed deporting him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, or Liberia, though none had formally agreed to receive him. Xinis wrote that officials showed "inexplicable reluctance" to send him to Costa Rica despite evidence the country was willing to accept him. When the court sought further explanation, Xinis said her orders "were ignored without justification."