Judge said Trump administration would not have prosecuted Ábrego had he not challenged his high-profile deportation

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A US judge dismissed a criminal indictment against Kilmar Ábrego García on Friday, finding that the Trump administration would not have prosecuted him had he not challenged his high-profile deportation.

Ábrego, who had entered the United States without authorization in the past, became a symbol of the Trump administration’s drive for mass deportations when he was sent to the notorious anti-terrorism mega-prison in El Salvador known as Cecot in March 2025.