Deported, returned illegal migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia pleads not guilty to fed smuggling charges

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the El Salvadoran whose deportation and return to the U.S. has become a national news story, pleaded not guilty Friday to human smuggling charges.

He made the plea in a federal court in Nashville.

Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay on the argument he would face gang violence if forced to return to El Salvador. The Trump administration deported him for purportedly being a member of the MS-13 gang, but courts said he was removed without his due process – essentially a court hearing on the matter. 

The administration made clear his return would also result in federal charges. Abrego Garcia is accused of transporting hundreds of illegal migrants over many years. The maximum sentence for transporting each person is 10 years, according to the Associated Press.