Abrego Garcia returns to us, facing charges of helping “thousands” of immigrants

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was mistakenly deported from the Salvador, is on his way back to the United States and will face criminal charges for suspected transport of undocumented immigrants in the United States, according to familiar sources.

More than two months after the Trump administration admitted to deporting Abrego Garcia from Maryland to his native El Salvador, a federal grand jury charged him with allegedly transporting undocumented immigrants in the United States.

A two-count indictment charged Abrego Garcia, 29, in a one-year conspiracy to immigrate undocumented from Texas to the country in two unsealed indictments last month in Tennessee federal court and two unsealed Friday.

More: Ministry of Justice Investigation 2022 Abrego Garcia Transportation Site: Source

According to the indictment, the alleged conspiracy spans nearly a decade and involves domestic transport from thousands of non-citizens from Mexico and Central America, including some children, in exchange for thousands of dollars.

According to the indictment, Abrego-Garica allegedly took part in more than 100 such trips. Sources familiar with the investigation said the alleged transport included members of the El Salvador gang MS-13.

Abrego-Garcia is the only member of the alleged plot in the new indictment.

Abrego Garcia's lawyer said in a statement to ABC News that he would continue to fight to ensure Abrego Garcia is on a fair trial.

“From the beginning, one thing was clear about this case: the government has the right to bring him back at any time. Instead, they chose to play games with the courts and the lives of men.” “We are not only fighting for Kilma – we are protecting our due process rights to ensure that everyone's rights to due process are protected. Because tomorrow, if we ignore our constitution, it may be any of us – if we do our power without restriction.”

Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, lives in Maryland with his wife and children and was deported to the CECOT mass prison in El Salvador in March – despite a 2019 court order that was expelled from the country for fear of persecution – the Trump administration claims he is a member of the criminal gang MS-13. His wife and lawyers denied that he was a member of MS-13.

The move by Abrego Garcia, who filed a criminal prosecution by the Justice Department, is the most radical step in the government's efforts to collect potential charges about Abrego Garcia's background, and the message is due to the deportation process after a federal judge's order requiring the government to promote its return to the United States.

Sources familiar with the matter said Abrego Garcia is returning to the United States to face the allegations after a high-level diplomatic discussion between the Trump administration and the El Salvador administration.

The Trump administration acknowledged in court documents that Abrego Garcia was evacuated from El Salvador in March as it violated a 2019 U.S. immigration court order that expelled Abrego Garcia from his home country. An immigration judge determined that Abrego Garcia could be persecuted by local gangs allegedly intimidated by him and his family.

However, the government believes that Abrego Garcia should not return to the United States because he is a member of the transnational El Salvador gang MS-13, a claim his family and lawyers have denied. In recent weeks, despite the lack of corresponding criminal charges, Trump administration officials have been promoting Abrego Garcia's interaction with police for years.

In March, Abrego Garcia's family filed a lawsuit over deportation. Maryland's U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis finally ordered the Trump administration to promote his return to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, confirming the April 10 ruling.

More: Timetable: Wrong Deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Abrego Garcia was initially taken to the infamous Cecot prison in El Salvador, but is believed to have been transferred to other facilities in the country.

The criminal investigation that led to the alleged criminal investigation was initiated in April as federal authorities began reviewing the 2022 traffic stops by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2022. Abrego Garcia was pulled over, speeding in a car with eight passengers and told police they had been working in Missouri.

According to body camera footage from the 2022 traffic stop, Tennessee soldiers (who asked Abrego Garcia) discussed with each other their suspicion that Abrego Garcia might be shipping people for currency because nine people had no luggage, but Abrego Garcia was not ticketed or charged.

According to a report released last month by the Department of Homeland Security, officers finally allowed Abrego Garcia to continue warning of expired driver's licenses.

As ABC News first reported last month, the Justice Department has been quietly investigating the incident. As part of the investigation, federal agents visited a federal prison in Talladega, Alabama in late April to ask Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, a convicted felon who is the registered owner of the Abrego Garcia vehicle. He had previously told ABC News when he stopped on Interstate 40 east of Nashville. Hernandez-Reyes is not at a traffic stop.

More: Newly released video shows Abrego Garcia's 2022 Tennessee traffic stop

Hernandez-Reyes, 38, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States after being convicted of felony illegal transportation of foreigners.

After allegedly gaining limited immunity, Hernandez-Reyes told investigators that he used to run a “taxi service” in Baltimore. Sources told ABC News that he claimed to have met with Abrego Garcia around 2015 and claimed to have hired him several times to transport undocumented immigrants from Texas to various locations in the U.S.

When the details of Tennessee traffic parking were announced first, Abrego Garcia's wife said her husband sometimes transported a group of construction workers between work sites.

“Unfortunately, Kilma is currently incarcerated without contact with the outside world, which means he is unable to respond to the claim,” Jennifer Vasquez Sura said in mid-April.

According to court records, Abrego Garcia entered the United States illegally in 2012. He has lived in Maryland for the past 13 years and married Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen. The couple has a child.

Laura Romero of ABC News contributed to the report.