Trump Administration Forced to Reverse Unlawful Deportation Amid Mounting Legal and Human Rights Backlash

Trump Administration Backs Down, Agrees to Return Wrongfully Deported Maryland Father Kilmar Abrego Garcia

After intense public pressure, the Trump administration has agreed to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States—more than two months after wrongfully deporting him to a dangerous Salvadoran prison.

But this fight is far from over.

Abrego Garcia is returning not to freedom, but to face charges for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S.—charges that critics say are nothing more than a political smokescreen.

Trump’s ethically compromised Attorney General, Pam Bondi, announced the return with calculated spin: “Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant and they agreed to return him to our country. We’re grateful to President Bukele for cooperating.”

That cooperation follows weeks of silence from the administration after admitting it had “mistakenly” deported Abrego Garcia. During his detention in El Salvador, his safety and well-being were in constant jeopardy, raising serious questions about the trauma he may have suffered. Human rights advocates are already urging legal action against the administration for its reckless handling of the case.

The criminal indictment stems from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, where Abrego Garcia was pulled over for alleged speeding in a vehicle with several passengers. He was let off with a warning. Now, that minor incident has been weaponized into a federal indictment—providing Trump with an opportunity to distract from the administration's egregious error by painting Garcia as a criminal.

Garcia is now reportedly in U.S. custody.

“From the start, this case made one thing devastatingly clear: the government had the power to bring him back at any time. Instead, they chose to play games with the court and with a man’s life,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Abrego Garcia’s attorney.

“We're not just fighting for Kilmar,” he added. “We're fighting to defend due process for everyone. Because if we don’t push back now, this could happen to any one of us. That’s how unchecked power erodes democracy.”