Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran illegal migrant who was deported to El Salvador, is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat in this handout. (Abrego Garcia Family/Handout via REUTERS)
"This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes including trafficking children and will not walk free in our country again," DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told Fox News Digital in an email.
The White House further clarified the Executive Branch’s stance following an Associated Press report on the comments from federal prosecutors about possibly deporting him to a third country sooner.
"This is fake news. Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States to face trial for the egregious charges against him. He will face the full force of the American justice system - including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed," White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said in an X post.
This courtroom sketch depicts Kilmar Abrego Garcia sitting in court during his detention hearing on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Federal prosecutors on Thursday said that if Abrego-Garcia is released, the government’s plan is to take him into ICE custody and begin removal proceedings to a "third country." (Diego Fishburn via AP)
"Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice," Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the time. "A grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned a sealed indictment charging him with alien smuggling and conspiracy."
However, critics blasted the charges as a political move.
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"After weeks of the Trump administration saying they either couldn't or wouldn't return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US, the timing of these charges are clearly designed to cover up their negligence and the fact that the Supreme Court unanimously called them out on the egregious ways they are ignoring due process," the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said in a statement at the time. "Still, Mr. Abrego Garcia will now be able to have his day in court, which The Constitution guarantees for everyone in our country regardless of citizenship."
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
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