Story perspectives

DOJ Asks Appeals Court to Reinstate Smuggling Charges

8/19/2026

Summary

Story summary

The DOJ asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate human-smuggling charges against Kilmar Ábrego García.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and Acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire argued prosecutors had probable cause, citing a November 2022 Tennessee traffic stop.
Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. dismissed the indictment in May as “presumptive vindictive” because it followed Ábrego García’s successful March 2025 lawsuit challenging his deportation.

History

Historical Context

President Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act on September 30 1996, taking effect April 1 1997 and expanding removal penalties; Attorney General Janet Reno’s DOJ reported about 1.5 million removals through 2005. Today DOJ lawyers Stanley Woodward and Robert McGuire ask the 6th Circuit to revive smuggling charges against Kilmar Ábrego García, echoing the Act’s enforcement legacy.

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Story summary

The DOJ asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate human-smuggling charges against Kilmar Ábrego García.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and Acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire argued prosecutors had probable cause, citing a November 2022 Tennessee traffic stop.
Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. dismissed the indictment in May as “presumptive vindictive” because it followed Ábrego García’s successful March 2025 lawsuit challenging his deportation.

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