DOJ attorneys also flagged testimony from a co-conspirator who described how Abrego Garcia would travel with minors or family members “to cover up his illegal actions as part of the overall conspiracy.”

Abrego Garcia, 29, was charged Friday in a two-count indictment accusing him of transporting people unlawfully in the U.S., including MS-13 gang members. The charges stem from an alleged yearslong conspiracy to move migrants from the southern border to various U.S. locations using reconfigured vehicles, false identities, and illicit cash transfers.

The Salvadoran was returned to U.S. custody after weeks of litigation and debate between the Trump administration and his attorneys, which included one brief appeal to the Supreme Court, where a narrow majority of the justices agreed with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis that Abrego Garcia’s return should be facilitated by the government.

At a brief court appearance Friday in Nashville, Abrego Garcia confirmed he understood the charges against him. His arraignment and detention hearing are scheduled for June 13.

However, Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes last week declined a public defender’s request that Abrego Garcia be released immediately. He remains in federal custody.

The DOJ argued that Abrego Garcia could face a “lengthy sentence” if convicted, pointing to precedent allowing courts to impose a 10-year sentence for each undocumented person transported, which is potentially hundreds in his case. Prosecutors said this alone gives Abrego Garcia “exceptional motivation to flee” and noted that any conviction could also revoke his 2019 protection from deportation to El Salvador.

The government also cited Abrego Garcia’s alleged affiliation with MS-13, a designated foreign terrorist organization, as further reason for pretrial detention. It contended that the gang could help him evade law enforcement or intimidate witnesses, especially as he has gained media attention.

“The government depends on witnesses to prove the allegations … and there is a serious risk that those witnesses will be intimidated should the Defendant be released,” the DOJ said.

Prosecutors said they would call a Homeland Security Investigations agent, Pete Joseph, to testify that Abrego Garcia knowingly transported unaccompanied minors and even placed children on the floorboards to make room for paying passengers.

“This was his full-time job, not a contractor,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday. “He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found.”

Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, rejected the government’s claims, calling the criminal prosecution “an abuse of power.” He said the administration violated court orders by deporting Abrego Garcia and only brought him back to justify its misconduct.

“This shows that they were playing games with the court all along,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you’re punished, not after.”

Parallel legal battle continues in Maryland

Despite Abrego Garcia’s return, a separate legal fight has continued in Maryland federal court over misconduct alleged by his attorneys. On Sunday, Abrego Garcia’s counsel urged U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis not to drop their bid for sanctions amid their client’s return to the U.S., arguing that the Trump administration’s alleged violations of court orders remain unresolved.

“Until the Government is held accountable for its blatant, willful, and persistent violations… this case is not over,” they said. “The executive branch’s wanton disregard for the judicial branch has left a stain on the Constitution.”

ABREGO GARCIA RETURNING TO US TO FACE CHARGES FOR HUMAN SMUGGLING

Xinis previously demanded sworn answers and documentation from the government related to the deportation, and last week unsealed several of the government’s previously undisclosed court filings as well as one sealed hearing. Before Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S., Xinis ordered his lawyers to submit their motion seeking sanctions against the government by June 11.

Meanwhile, the government has contended that Xinis should dismiss the case. Because sanctions are potentially on the table, the case in Xinis’s Maryland federal court will likely continue despite the parallel criminal case in Tennessee.