Tennessee Police Release Footage of Mistakenly Deported Garcia

Recently released bodycam footage of a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland construction worker, being pulled over for speeding while transporting eight passengers in a van with no luggage. Although state troopers expressed suspicions of human trafficking and discussed the possibility that Garcia was being paid to transport people, he was not arrested or charged and received only a warning for an expired driver’s license. The Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration later used this incident to claim Garcia was involved with MS-13 and human trafficking, justifying his deportation to El Salvador despite the lack of charges or clear evidence in the footage. Garcia’s attorneys argue he was denied due process and deserves a court hearing in the United States, while his family maintains he was merely transporting coworkers. The incident has become a focal point in the debate over U.S. immigration policy and Garcia’s continued detention abroad.