Trump on the return of deported Kilmer Abrego Garcia
President Trump spoke with reporters in Air Force 1 on the return of deported Kilmer Abrego Garcia.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said in a new interview that he did not talk about Salvador President Naive Buquere and Kilmer Abrego Garcia returning to the US to face trafficking charges.
Trump told NBC News on June 7 that returning Abrego Garcia was “not my decision.” Instead, he told the outlet the US Department of Justice: “I decided to do that, but that’s fine.”
Abrego Garcia, a three-piece metal worker and father of three from Maryland, was accidentally deported to El Salvador in March, despite a 2019 court order banning his removal. His case attracted public attention after conflicts between the Trump administration, the courts and Congressional Democrats over his release.
In April, the unanimous Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “promote” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States. Authorities argued that sovereign states cannot be forced to abandon prisoners.
The Trump administration has claimed that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, but federal judges have previously questioned the strength of the government’s evidence. Abrego Garcia denied being a member of the gang.
A Maryland man is currently facing new charges in American soil. At a June 6 press conference, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Abrego Garcia of making more than 100 trips to smuggle undocumented immigrants around the country.
The indictment against Abrego Garcia alleges that he and his conspirators will work with people from other countries to transport immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Mexico, take people from Houston to Maryland, often changing their routes and ascending cover stories about construction if they are sued.
Trump told NBC News that he believes that it should be a very simple case for federal prosecutors.
However, Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, Simon Sandoval Moshenberg, criticized the Justice Department for bringing in all of these charges.
Contribution: USA Today Staff
