In April of this year, the Trump administration caused yet another furor over its tyrannical and unconstitutional methods of dealing with the country’s large — and largely law-abiding — immigrant population . . . this time, in the person of one Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Abrego Garcia, as you may recall, is a Salvadoran national, married to an American woman, who has been living in the United States since 2019 under a ruling by an immigration judge stating that he could not be deported to El Salvador because a gang there was targeting him and threatening him with death. He was never found to have had any connection with terrorist or other criminal organizations; and for six years, he has regularly checked in with immigration officials as required, and has never been convicted of a crime in the U.S.

But, in direct violation of a federal court order, Donald Trump and his henchmen in the Department of Justice decided he was a danger, labeled him a terrorist, and deported him to El Salvador, where he was immediately incarcerated in that country’s most notorious prison.

An order was issued by federal Judge Paula Xinis to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., to which Trump adviser Stephen Miller responded on social media:

“Marxist judge now thinks she’s president of El Salvador.” [John Fritze and Devan Cole, CNN, April 7, 2025.]

And when DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni was asked under oath why Abrego Garcia couldn’t be returned to the U.S., he answered frankly:

“The first thing I did when I got this case on my desk is ask my clients the same question.” [Id.]

As a “reward” for his honesty, both Reuveni and his supervisor were placed on leave.

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Two months have passed, during which the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody. Donald Trump responded that he would try, but that he couldn’t tell the president of El Salvador what to do. And, to no one’s surprise, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele followed suit with his own gem:

“I hope you’re not suggesting that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.” [Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak, CNN, April 14, 2025.]

Even when Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Glenn Ivey refused to let the matter die, traveling to El Salvador in hopes of effecting the prisoner’s return, nothing happened, despite the government’s grudging admission that the deportation had been the result of an “administrative error.”

But now — after two months of delays — it seems that something has been happening behind the scenes after all: While the administration stalled, a case was being built and an indictment prepared against Abrego Garcia. That indictment — charging him with one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and one count of unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens — was unsealed in the federal district court in Nashville, Tennessee.

Apparently, all the Salvadoran president needed to change his mind was an arrest warrant. According to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi:

“Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice. This is what American justice looks like.” [Melissa Quinn, Jacob Rosen and Nicole Valdes, CBS News, June 6, 2025.]

Bondi said that the grand jury had found that Abrego Garcia “played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring” involving women and children, and is “a danger to our community,” adding that, if convicted, he would be returned to El Salvador after serving his sentence in the United States. She also claimed that he had played a role in the murder of a rival gang member’s mother, and solicited naked pictures from a minor — though neither of those allegations had been mentioned in the indictment. [Id.]

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Whether Abrego Garcia is guilty or innocent will be for a judge and jury to decide. But regardless of the outcome, there is no doubt that this entire matter has been botched from beginning to end, and that this man has already been punished without the due process of law guaranteed him — and each of us — under the U.S. Constitution. As his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said in a statement:

“[Due process] means the chance to defend yourself before you’re punished, not after. This is an abuse of power, not justice. [The government] disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order. Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they’re bringing him back, not to correct their error but to prosecute him.”

I would hope, as we all would, that he will receive a fair and impartial trial of the charges against him. But I have to ask: Why Tennessee? He lives in Maryland. Where are the alleged crimes supposed to have been committed? At first face, Tennessee seems an odd venue for his trial; and if there is a good reason for it, I’d very much like to know what it is.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/7/25