US judge dismisses criminal indictment against Kilmar Ábrego García

Judge said Trump administration would not have prosecuted Ábrego García had he not challenged his high-profile deportation

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A US judge dismissed a criminal indictment against https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/kilmar-abrego-garcia">Kilmar Ábrego García on Friday, finding that the Trump administration would not have prosecuted him had he not challenged his high-profile deportation.

Ábrego García, who had entered the United States without authorization in the past, became a symbol of the Trump administration’s drive for mass deportations when he https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/04/maryland-deported-el-salvador-kilmar-abrego-garcia">was sent to the notorious anti-terrorism mega-prison in El Salvador known as Cecot last March.

This was despite a prior court order barring him from being returned there because of a risk of persecution.