A federal judge in Tennessee has dismissed the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who faced deportation over human smuggling allegations linked to U.S. immigration enforcement policies.

Mr Garcia’s case was dismissed on Friday, with U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw presiding over the matter. The judge held that he was prosecuted for political reasons after successfully challenging his deportation to El Salvador.

“The Court does not reach its conclusion lightly,” Judge Crenshaw wrote in her opinion, adding that the government failed to rebut what she described as a “presumption of vindictiveness.”

According to the ruling, authorities only reopened investigations into a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop after Mr Garcia sued over his deportation.

“The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution,” the judge stated.

Prosecutors charged the 30-year-old with human trafficking after he was found transporting several people in his vehicle during the 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.

Mr Garcia pleaded not guilty to the charges and the U.S. Justice Department has yet to publicly comment on the ruling.

Mr Garcia entered the United States as a teenager from El Salvador, settled in Maryland for several years, and later married an American citizen.

At the time, he was granted protection from deportation by an immigration judge after it was determined that he could face a threat to his life from gangs if returned to El Salvador.

Despite the protection order, Mr Garcia was deported in March 2025 and held at the CECOT megaprison in El Salvador, where he remained imprisoned for months.

His deportation triggered widespread legal backlash, with the case eventually reaching the Supreme Court, which ordered the federal government to facilitate his return to the United States in June after prosecutors secured human smuggling charges against him.

Upon his return to the United States, Mr Garcia was immediately arrested and transferred to Tennessee to face trial.

Mr Garcia’s lawyers later asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that it was politically motivated and retaliatory. The judge ultimately agreed with their position.