Anewly released Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador who was deported by the Trump administration, cites a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee as the catalyst for labeling the Maryland sheet metal worker a gang-affiliated human trafficker. The report, issued by Homeland Security Investigations' Combined Intelligence Unit—and called a "bombshell" by DHS in its press release—outlines the circumstances of a December 1, 2022, traffic stop in which Tennessee Highway Patrol officers pulled over Abrego Garcia for speeding on Interstate 40 while he was traveling with eight other people in the vehicle.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security released a Homeland Security Investigations’ Combined Intelligence Unit (CIU) Investigative Referral report on Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The report details the traffic stop encounter that led law enforcement officers to suspect Abrego Garcia of involvement in human trafficking. The documents also reveal that law enforcement confirmed Abrego Garcia to be a Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang member. On Dec. 1, 2022, Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for speeding. Upon approach to the vehicle, the encountering officer noted eight other individuals in the vehicle. There was no luggage in the vehicle, leading the encountering officer to suspect this was a human trafficking incident.
El Salvador migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was suspected of human trafficking in 2022, according to Department of Homeland Security records. The 29-year-old has been at the center of a legal battle over the Trump administration's immigration policy since he was deported to his homeland last month, despite an order protecting him from removal. Prosecutors allege he is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang, which he staunchly denies. Several courts have ruled that he was deported in error and have called for his return to the US, but the Trump administration has held firm in its allegations. Now Fox News' Bill Melugin has obtained bodycam footage and documents from the DHS which show that Abrego Garcia was pulled over by Tennessee Highway Patrol and suspected of human trafficking.
