Bodycam footage from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident and suspected MS-13 gang member, transporting eight individuals without identification or luggage. Tennessee Highway Patrol officers immediately suspected human trafficking, stating on camera that Garcia was likely “hauling these people for money.” Despite these suspicions, officers only issued a citation for driving with an expired license and released him.
Garcia originally entered the United States illegally in 2011 and was the subject of a 2019 immigration court order that blocked his deportation due to alleged fears of gang retaliation in El Salvador. However, under President Donald Trump’s renewed enforcement priorities, Garcia was removed from the U.S. in March 2025. He is currently being held in El Salvador’s CECOT prison, a high-security facility known for housing gang members and violent offenders.
The deportation has triggered a legal and diplomatic dispute. Federal courts have since ruled that the U.S. government violated Garcia’s protected status and ordered authorities to facilitate his return. Immigration attorneys argue the removal ignored due process and placed him in harm’s way, while critics say Garcia’s suspected criminal activity justified the deportation, regardless of previous court protections.
The incident has reignited concerns over the enforcement failures that allow known gang affiliates to remain in the country. Law enforcement officials and immigration watchdogs are calling for stricter detention protocols when trafficking is suspected. The footage and subsequent release of Garcia before his deportation raise questions about systemic lapses and whether current policy adequately protects the public from criminal networks operating inside U.S. borders.
