A Homeland Security memo reveals that El Salvadorian illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was suspected of human trafficking.
In 2022, Abrego Garcia was stopped by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper who noticed eight individuals in the vehicle. The trooper suspected it was a human trafficking incident after finding no luggage in the vehicle. The individuals in the car further provided the same address as Abrego Garcia’s.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a MS-13 gang member, illegal alien from El Salvador, and suspected human trafficker. The facts reveal he was pulled over with eight individuals in a car on an admitted three-day journey from Texas to Maryland with no luggage,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “The facts speak for themselves, and they reek of human trafficking. The media’s sympathetic narrative about this criminal illegal gang member has completely fallen apart. We hear far too much about the gang members and criminals’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims.”
The report comes as Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) met with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. “I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance,” the sentor wrote on social media. “I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”
Abrego Garcia’s deportation has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who argue it violates due process. A federal appeals court recently upheld a lower court’s order for the Trump administration to facilitate his return, condemning the government’s actions as a “willful disregard” for judicial authority.
