Kilmar Abrego Garcia returning to U.S. for criminal charges

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen whom the Trump administration mistakenly deported, is returning to the United States to face criminal charges for his alleged role in trafficking illegal aliens, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday.

"Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant and they agreed to return him to our country," Bondi said. "Upon completion of his sentence, we estimate that he will be returned to his home country of El Salvador."

"Not a contractor, he was a  smuggler of humans and children and women," she declared. "He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found, smuggling people throughout our country."

Abrego Garcia faces two counts related to his alleged participant in a years-long effort to traffic illegal immigrants from Texas, including members of MS-13. He was deported months ago to El Salvador and held in its notorious mega-prison, despite being subject to a withholding order. 

The administration has adamantly insisted it lacked the power to return him to the U.S. and his removal became a rallying cry for Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who personally traveled to the prison to meet with Abrego Garcia, despite his illegal status.