NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A federal judge in Nashville is weighing whether to suppress evidence from a 2022 traffic stop that led to human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old married father who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador earlier this year.
Attorneys met for what amounted to an 18-minute hearing, Friday morning in Nashville, but what followed was a flurry of motions filed by attorneys for Abrego Garcia.
This included a request to exclude the Tennessee Highway Patrol traffic stop that forms the basis of two felony human smuggling charges filed this past summer.
Defense attorney Sean Hecker argued that while law enforcement has broad authority to stop vehicles for minor infractions, courts must ensure "the authority is not abused."
"An officer cannot expand the scope of his mandate to conduct fishing expeditions to search for evidence of criminal activity where he lacks probable cause or reasonable suspicion to initiate the stop in the first place," attorneys wrote in court filings.
Traffic stop details disputed
Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers said they pulled over Abrego Garcia's SUV for speeding in 2022, but Hecker contends there's no evidence to confirm his client's speed. He says there's no radar data, vehicle information, or evidence showing the trooper paced behind Abrego Garcia.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates raised questions back in June over the unsealed federal indictment after noticing that nearly one-third of the audio in body camera footage had been redacted.
That means the sound we need to verify many of the claims made in the two-count indictment was removed.
The indictment accused Garcia of being part of a conspiracy, “to bring undocumented aliens to the United States from countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and elsewhere, ultimately passing through Mexico before they cross into Texas.”
The indictment also alleged that Abrego Garcia misled troopers by not telling them that his trip began in Houston, Texas, where they believe he picked up migrants who had just crossed the border.
A report from the Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, seemed to contradict the indictment by saying “the subject stated he was driving ‘three days ago’ from Houston, Texas, to Maryland.”
After questioning Abrego Garcia about his speed, the trooper used a K9 unit to inspect the SUV for drugs and found nothing. Other troopers then arrived and contacted Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI about possible human smuggling.
Body camera footage captured troopers talking about Abrego Garcia possibly "hauling people for money" as they debated whether to detain the only driver and leave several others on the side of a busy interstate.
Deportation and charges timeline
Whether they knew what they were doing by sharing their suspicions or not, Hecker said the call from troopers is what caused HIS’s Baltimore field office to launch an investigation into Abrego Garcia that lasted more than two years.
Hecker wrote that the Baltimore office failed to find evidence and shifted focus to deporting Abrego Garcia back to his birthplace of El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia illegally entered the US as a teen and eventually found himself in Maryland where he worked as a sheet metal apprentice.
He had a stay on deportation to El Salvador from 2019, meaning he could be deported anywhere except that country. After the U.S. Supreme Court forced the Trump Administration to admit they wrongfully deported Abrego Garcia and facilitate his return, the government resurrected the traffic stop as the centerpiece of their smuggling charges, according to Hecker.
Vindictive prosecution claims
Hecker filed a motion requesting that U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw dismiss the human smuggling charges, claiming the government behaved vindictively in bringing charges against Abrego Garcia.
Crenshaw wrote in a 16-page ruling that there was a "realistic likelihood" that the government may have acted vindictively with these charges. The ruling allowed attorneys to seek discovery and testimony from Trump officials about why they brought charges against Abrego Garcia.
In a separate filing, Hecker requested the court throw out an interview between Abrego Garcia and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in March. He wrote that Department of Homeland Security agents seized Abrego Garcia and questioned him about human smuggling without lawful authority, reading him his Miranda rights, or at the very least offering a translator.
Deportation confusion continues
Meanwhile, Abrego Garcia remains in ICE custody at a Pennsylvania detention center as his attorneys in Maryland continue pushing for his release. The case has been complicated by confusion over deportation plans.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis appeared frustrated with DHS's lack of concrete answers about deportation plans. She had earlier denied the government's motion to delay Abrego Garcia's case, rejecting claims that the government shutdown prevented some attorneys from working.
Abrego Garcia was notified on Thursday that DHS intended to deport him to Ghana, but a DHS official later testified that the notice was premature and asked attorneys to disregard the document. Ghana's foreign minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, posted on X that the West African country was not accepting Abrego Garcia.
"This has been directly and unambiguously conveyed to US authorities," Ablakwa wrote.
DHS has floated several African countries in recent weeks, including Uganda and South Sudan, as possible third-country destinations for deportation. Abrego Garcia has told courts he fears for his life in either country and would prefer deportation to a Spanish-speaking country like Costa Rica.
Representatives for the Costa Rican government have said they were willing to accept Abrego Garcia.
Xinis once again appeared exasperated that the government witness offered no details about plans for Costa Rica, but instead focused on countries where deals were still being negotiated.
"If the government has not done anything to effectuate the one place he says he'll go and the one place they say will take him, how can I find you're really pursuing this," Xinis asked.
John Schultz, deputy assistant director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, testified on behalf of ICE that the government is confident it can remove Abrego Garcia within 72 hours once the judge lifts her prior ruling. He said the most likely destination is Eswatini.
Xinis temporarily barred DHS from removing Abrego Garcia while she determines the next steps in his Maryland case.
Attorneys for Abrego Garcia argue he should be released if there's no concrete deportation plan. They point to "deeply concerning" conditions at the Pennsylvania detention center, citing recent reports of assaults and inadequate medical care.
Crenshaw will consider the motions with the next evidentiary hearing scheduled for Nov. 3. Trial is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2026.
