After being mistakenly deported to El Salvador, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in the United States to face criminal charges. The 29-year-old Salvadoran immigrant, who had spent nearly half his life in Maryland before his deportation in March, is accused of transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S., according to recently unsealed court documents.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Friday that Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. to “face justice.” The indictment against him was filed on may 21, over two months after his deportation, which occurred despite a court order that aimed to prevent his removal.

The charges are linked to a 2022 traffic stop by the tennessee Highway Patrol.at the time, authorities suspected Abrego Garcia of human trafficking but ultimately only issued a warning for an expired driver’s license, according to a Department of Homeland Security report.

At a news conference, Bondi stated that a grand jury “found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring.” She added that salvadoran President Nayib Bukele agreed to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. after American officials presented his government with an arrest warrant.

Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador was part of what the Trump governance called a scheme to move undocumented migrants, accused of being gang members, to prison in the Central American country without due process.

Bukele stated in a social media post that his government collaborates with the Trump administration and “of course” would not refuse a request to return “a gang member” to the U.S.

Deportation ‘a Separate Legal Matter’

“Today’s action proves what we’ve known all along – that the administration had the ability to bring him back and just refused to do so,”

Rosiland Jordan, reporting from washington, DC, noted that Abrego Garcia could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. However, she added, “that does not deal with the ongoing matter of whether or not he should be deported. That’s a separate legal matter.”

Abrego Garcia will have the possibility to enter a plea in court and contest the charges at trial. If convicted, he would be deported to El Salvador after serving his sentence, according to bondi.

in a statement, Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, Andrew rossman, emphasized the importance of the U.S. judicial system ensuring his client receives due process. “Today’s action proves what we’ve known all along – that the administration had the ability to bring him back and just refused to do so,” said Rossman, a partner at law firm Quinn Emanuel.

Abrego Garcia’s deportation previously defied a 2019 immigration judge’s order that granted him protection from being sent back to El Salvador, based on the finding that he was likely to be persecuted by gangs if returned, court records indicate.

Critics of the Trump administration cited the mistaken deportation as an example of the potential overreach of the administration’s approach to increasing deportations.

Officials have alleged that Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, a claim his lawyers deny. They maintain that he has not been convicted of any crime.

Abrego Garcia’s case has become a focal point for tensions between the executive and judicial branches, especially concerning immigration policies. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated that the government had provided no basis for what she described as his “warrantless arrest.”

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis also initiated an investigation into the Trump administration’s actions,if any,to secure his return,following accusations from his lawyers that officials were obstructing their requests for facts.