Abrego Garcia Pulled Over In Vehicle Owned By Convicted Human Smuggler

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal migrant whose deportation to El Salvador has garnered nationwide controversy, was once pulled over in a vehicle owned by a convicted human smuggler, federal authorities have confirmed.

Abrego Garcia was pulled over on a Tennessee highway in 2022 and suspected of human smuggling after local authorities discovered he was transporting eight passengers with no apparent luggage. The vehicle Abrego Garcia was driving belonged to Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, an illegal migrant who was sentenced to prison for human smuggling in 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed Wednesday to the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation.

When a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer stopped Abrego Garcia on Dec. 1, 2022, he was found to be driving eight other passengers across the country. He claimed that he was driving them from Texas to Maryland, but none of the individuals allegedly had any luggage on them and all claimed Abrego Garcia’s address as their own, according to court documents reviewed by the Daily Caller.

Abrego Garcia allegedly pretended to understand less English than he actually knew and attempted to confuse the law enforcement officer by responding to questions with his own questions. He told the officer that the vehicle he was driving belonged to his “boss” who worked in construction.

Despite allegedly not having a valid driver’s license and being suspected of smuggling the passengers, Abrego Garcia was ultimately let go at the request of the FBI and simply given a warning for driving on an expired license.