Trump administration pursues Kilmar Ábrego García on previously dismissed charges

Attorneys for Ábrego, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, say the DoJ’s appeal was ‘flat wrong’

The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to reinstate criminal charges against Kilmar Ábrego García that were dismissed in May by a judge who said the prosecution of the man who unwittingly became a symbol of the White House’s mass deportation campaign was “vindictive in nature”.

In a filing to the US sixth circuit court of appeals, the justice department (DoJ) insisted that human smuggling allegations against Ábrego are genuine – and not retaliation for challenging his wrongful deportation to El Salvador in March 2025.

Ábrego’s deportation sent him to the notorious anti-terrorism mega-prison in El Salvador known as Cecot. He was ultimately returned to the US three months later by a federal supreme court order .

“The decision to seek an indictment against Ábrego García for human smuggling was made by career prosecutors based on the evidence, the law, and their firm belief that there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Ábrego García had committed the offenses charged,” the DoJ said in a statement describing its brief and posted online on Monday.

Ábrego was accused of human smuggling charges based on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.