The FBI ordered the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2022 to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia after a traffic stop yielded proof that he was operating a vehicle without a valid license, and despite concerns from officers that he was engaged in human trafficking.
Abrego Garcia is the man portrayed in the media as little more than a 'Maryland father' who was recently deported to El Salvador under President Donald Trump. Democrats have latched onto his case after it was discovered his removal was the result of a clerical error.
But a new report by The Tennessee Star shows there are layers of complexity to the man's case.
According to the outlet, Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) stopped Abrego Garcia in December 2022, and an officer who filed the report on the incident confirmed that he was transporting seven other individuals in the vehicle from Texas to Maryland.
Abrego Garcia was discovered to be operating the vehicle without a valid driver’s license, prompting a more thorough background check. The lack of a valid license alone is a misdemeanor offense that could have lead to jail time.
More ominously, the officer at the scene indicated he had suspicions that Abrego Garcia was "engaged in human trafficking."
Karoline Leavitt sets the record straight!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 15, 2025
"Abrego Garcia was a foreign terrorist. He is an MS-13 gang member. He was engaged in human trafficking. He illegally came into our country. So, deporting him back to El Salvador was always going to be the end result. There is never… pic.twitter.com/l5DZiWsiQC
Hoo Boy: Here's How That Grandstanding Trip to El Salvador Went for Chris Van Hollen
Conflicting sources cited by The Tennessee Star state that either Abrego Garcia or somebody inside the vehicle had been determined to be on a terrorist watch list. Law enforcement officials, however, were unable to locate a deportation order.
THP's concerns prompted them to contact the FBI, which former Director Christopher Wray then led under the Biden administration.
"The FBI instructed the THP officers at the scene to capture photographs of all eight people in the vehicle and document its contents," the Star notes, but the bureau ultimately directed the eight individuals in the vehicle to be released without incident.
It is unclear if Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving without a proper license or if someone else in the vehicle may have been capable of operating it thereafter.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not a “Maryland Man”—he is an MS-13 gang member involved in human trafficking who entered the United States illegally. His deportation to El Salvador was always going to be the end result.@TriciaOhio pic.twitter.com/bd3s8wHM2T
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 15, 2025
The Tennessee Star goes on to report that they have identified the officer involved in the 2022 traffic stop and that he is "well-respected within the Tennessee Highway Patrol."
Abrego Garcia, the man Democrats and the media have latched onto to portray President Trump's deportation operation as heartless, according to an immigration judge in 2019, had evidence of an association with the violent MS-13 gang.
In fact, two judges have determined he is likely to be a member of MS-13.
RedState Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar reported Wednesday evening that Abrego Garcia was detained by Prince George's County, Maryland officials in 2019. During that interaction with law enforcement, he was determined to be loitering outside a Home Depot with several other men with either known or suspected MS-13 ties.
Details of the incident indicate extensive ties between the 'Maryland father' and his gang affiliates, including one man with a comprehensive and violent criminal history, and a revelation that Abrego-Garcia and others at the scene were "detained in connection to a murder investigation."
3/28/19 I-213 form related to Kilmar Abrego-Garcia says he was "detained in connection to a murder investigation" by Prince Georges County, MD Police Gang Unit. He was with 2 other known MS-13 gang members and a presumed gang member.
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) April 17, 2025
LET'S HEAR ABOUT THAT MURDER INVESTIGATION https://t.co/kggWJqL3dH pic.twitter.com/sbMcx8ZkLL
All of this information and reporting comes as Democrat lawmakers remain intent on defending Abrego Garcia as a victim. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) went so far as to try to visit him in prison in El Salvador.
Vice President JD Vance tore into Democrat lawmakers and the media for trying to paint this man as an innocent father caught up in the mass deportation efforts of the administration.
"This is not exactly Father of the Year here. This is a person that we don't think should be in our country," said Vance.
"This was unquestionably an illegal alien. This was unquestionably a person who broke the laws to get into our country. This is unquestionably a person an immigration judge found had zero right to be in the United States of America," Vance continued.
“We do not ask permission from far-left Democrats before we deport illegal immigrants. We do the American people’s business.”
.@VP: “We do not ask permission from far-left Democrats before we deport illegal immigrants. We do the American people’s business.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8X5fpVO1L4
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 3, 2025
The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” his release from prison in El Salvador, while U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has gone further and insisted they must facilitate his return to the U.S. The administration has resisted, citing executive authority over foreign affairs.
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has dismissed any such notion that Abrego Garcia would be released and returned to the United States, noting that he is currently deemed a "terrorist" under the Trump administration.
“I don’t have the power to return him to the United States. How could I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course, I’m not going to do it," Bukele said at a recent Oval Office meeting with President Trump.
If there were a way to smuggle this terrorist into America, Democrats, including Van Hollen, would have found it by now.
Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.
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