The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported in March by the Trump administration, seems to be taking another turn, as reports suggest the U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to introduce events stemming from a 2022 traffic stop into court proceedings.
Abrego Garcia has been at the center of a high-profile immigration dispute for weeks following his deportation to El Salvador, with immigration officials alleging ties to the MS-13 gang. The case has become emblematic of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, as top officials continue to defy a Supreme Court ruling ordering the administration to facilitate his return.
According to ABC News, the Justice Department is now investigating Abrego Garcia's ties to a man who operated an unauthorized transportation business and was used by unlawful migrants. That man allegedly charged $350 per person to move undocumented migrants across the United States and had previously employed Abrego Garcia.
Sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that federal investigators recently interviewed Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, a convicted felon currently imprisoned in Alabama. Hernandez-Reyes was listed as the owner of the vehicle Abrego Garcia was driving when he was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2022.
Hernandez-Reyes told investigators he met Abrego Garcia around 2015 and claimed to have hired him several times to transport undocumented migrants from Texas to other parts of the country. Details about how often these alleged trips occurred remain unclear.
Court records show Hernandez-Reyes pleaded guilty in 2020 to one count of unlawful transportation of an alien after police pulled him over in Mississippi while transporting nine undocumented migrants. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and later deported. He was found back in the U.S. two years later and charged in Texas with illegal discharge of a firearm.
Sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News that federal agents interviewed Hernandez-Reyes late last month at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Alabama.
Body camera footage of the 2022 traffic stop shows Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding. He was transporting eight passengers and told troopers they had been working construction in Missouri. When asked for proof of insurance, Abrego Garcia said he needed to contact his boss, as he didn't know where the document was.
After troopers briefly discussed whether the situation might involve human trafficking citing the group's lack of luggage, Abrego Garcia was let go with only a warning about an expired driver's license, according to a Department of Homeland Security report released last month.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Abrego Garcia's attorney, rejected the idea that the traffic stop supports claims of wrongdoing.
"But the point is not the traffic stop — it's that Mr. Abrego Garcia deserves his day in court. Bring him back to the United States," he said.
"I've represented Kilmar Abrego Garcia for more than a month, and this bodycam video is the first time I've heard his voice," Sandoval-Moshenberg added. "He has been denied the most basic protections of due process — no phone call to his lawyer, no contact with his wife or child, and no opportunity to be heard."
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
