DOJ Investigating Kilmar Garcia’s 2022 Traffic Stop In Tennessee
The Department of Justice has launched a review into a 2022 traffic stop involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was later deported by the Trump administration and imprisoned in El Salvador. The stop, conducted by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, is under scrutiny after bodycam footage surfaced and new details emerged regarding Abrego Garcia’s alleged involvement in human smuggling.
According to ABC News, the incident occurred in November 2022 when state troopers pulled over Abrego Garcia for speeding. At the time, he was traveling in a vehicle carrying eight other individuals. Troopers suspected human trafficking due to the large number of passengers and the absence of luggage or personal belongings, though no citation was issued, and the group was allowed to continue.
Abrego Garcia reportedly told officers he had been working on a construction job in Missouri and was based in Maryland. The vehicle was registered to Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, a 38-year-old currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Alabama.
Federal authorities later interviewed Hernandez-Reyes, who admitted to hiring Abrego Garcia multiple times to transport undocumented migrants from Texas to other parts of the country, according to ABC News.
In a Thursday broadcast, Fox News host Jesse Watters aired exclusive body camera footage of the traffic stop, stating, “You are seeing it here first.” Watters explained that law enforcement on the scene became suspicious after learning the passengers had no bags and were unclear about their travel plans.
“He was a suspect in a human trafficking operation dating back three years,” Watters said. “Tennessee highway patrol stopped Kilmar for speeding and noticed he had eight other people in the car. All with no luggage.”
Watters claimed the video shows officers growing increasingly convinced that Abrego Garcia was involved in trafficking. “After talking to Kilmar, the officers had no doubt that he was trafficking,” he said.
One section of the video shows an officer making a phone call, after which the audio cuts out for more than 10 minutes. According to Fox’s sources, that call was with the FBI, which advised local law enforcement not to detain Abrego Garcia. ICE was also contacted but never arrived, Watters reported.
“Biden’s guys had an MS-13 gangster, suspected human smuggler, and wife-beater… released into the country,” he said. “God knows what he did and was never caught for before Trump deported him.”
Abrego Garcia's deportation has become a rallying point for Democrats opposing the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Some have cited a Supreme Court directive that instructs the administration to “facilitate” his return to the U.S.—a term that legal analysts note leaves significant discretion to the White House.
Despite Democratic pressure, the El Salvadoran government has yet to cooperate on any return arrangement, and internal political fallout has prompted Democratic leaders to reconsider their engagement with the issue.
When pressed on Monday about whether Democrats should continue official visits to El Salvador, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries avoided a direct answer and instead criticized Trump’s poll numbers. However, The Bulwark reported that Jeffries has privately advised party members to pause such trips for now.
“They want to let the El Salvador stuff slow down,” one senior Democratic aide said.