DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:
The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been at the center of an extraordinary political and legal storm. The Trump administration had insisted that the Maryland resident, mistakenly deported to El Salvador nearly three months ago, would not return to the U.S. But in a surprise move yesterday, Abrego Garcia arrived back in the country after an arrest warrant was issued for him. NPR immigration reporter Ximena Bustillo has been following the case and joins us now in the studio. Thanks for coming in.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Good morning.
ELLIOTT: So why did the administration say he could come back?
BUSTILLO: Well, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in a press conference yesterday that a grand jury in Tennessee had charged Abrego Garcia of federal crimes. The indictment has one count of alien smuggling and one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. She said that the grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring. The indictment alleges that he made over 100 trips, transporting people without legal status between Texas and Maryland and other states. NPR has not independently confirmed the smuggling accusations.
ELLIOTT: So what has been the response from Abrego Garcia's legal team?
BUSTILLO: His lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told me that after months of delay and secrecy, authorities were bringing his client back to, quote, "not correct their error but to prosecute him." You know, as you mentioned, Abrego Garcia had been deported to El Salvador by mistake. In 2019, he received a protection from deportation to his native El Salvador because he successfully argued before an immigration judge that he could face gang violence if he was sent there.
A federal judge in Maryland ordered that the Trump administration facilitate Abrego Garcia's release and return. And this order was upheld unanimously by the U.S. Supreme Court. But until the indictment, the administration had not been able to communicate its progress in doing this, and Trump officials even said that they would not bring him back.
ELLIOTT: Abrego Garcia has been accused of committing various crimes, as we said. How does this fit into President Trump's broader immigration strategy?
BUSTILLO: Right. Abrego Garcia has been accused of being a member of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang. Trump officials used that allegation as a justification for removing him in the first place and then not returning him. His lawyers and wife have disputed those claims in court. And now he's being indicted by the DOJ and is being returned under that context. President Trump has long campaigned and created policy aimed at making a connection between immigration and criminality.
Beyond Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration has both said that they want to arrest and remove, quote, "the worst of the worst." But they have also vowed to arrest and remove anyone without legal status, blurring that line. Abrego Garcia's case really challenged how far the administration was willing to double down on its claims in the face of even the highest court's orders. And now the administration is willing to push this into a new sphere of litigation.
ELLIOTT: Right. And now the administration is seeking to expand the kind of resources it has to make these arrests and removals. What's happening on that front?
BUSTILLO: The Department of Homeland Security has requested 20,000 National Guard troops to help with immigration enforcement. The move comes as the White House is increasing pressure on immigration officers to arrest more people. My colleague Tom Bowman obtained the official request from DHS to the Pentagon for the guards' use. Their duties would really vary. Some would be placed in detention centers. Others would help with the transportation and finding those to arrest - but ultimately used for interior enforcement within the country.
ELLIOTT: How unprecedented is this?
BUSTILLO: You know, fairly. The National Guard of each state is typically deployed at the discretion of each governor. There are different examples of how individual states have already done this within their own borders, but being able to use this across state lines might potentially be unprecedented. Multiple U.S. officials tell NPR that the Pentagon is still working with state governors to determine what states might be able to provide troops.
ELLIOTT: Thanks. That's NPR's Ximena Bustillo. Thank you.
BUSTILLO: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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