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 García, 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 last March. This was despite a prior court order barring him from being returned there because of a risk of persecution.

The White House had taken a hard line against any notion of bringing Ábrego García back to the US, but that did happen last June after the US supreme court ordered the administration to facilitate it. However, he was brought back only after prosecutors in the US secured a criminal indictment charging Ábrego García with human smuggling. There was then talk from the Trump administration of him being deported to various countries in Africa.

He pleaded not guilty in court and argued he was being prosecuted in retaliation for suing the government to be returned from El Salvador.

Ábrego García, 30, grew up in El Salvador and fled at age 16 because a local gang extorted and terrorised his family, court records state. He travelled to Maryland, where his brother lives as a US citizen, but was not authorised to stay.

Ábrego García found work in construction and met his future wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. In 2018, he moved in with her and her two children after she became pregnant with his child.

In March 2019, Ábrego García went to a Home Depot seeking work as a laborer when he was detained by local police, court records state.

More details soon…

Reuters contributed reporting