Newly obtained Department of Homeland Security documents reveal that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien from El Salvador currently at the center of a political firestorm, was previously stopped by law enforcement while driving a vehicle linked to a known human trafficker.
The SUV was owned by Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, who pleaded guilty to smuggling illegal aliens across the U.S.-Mexico border in 2020.
The incident, which occurred in Tennessee in 2022, involved a traffic stop by a state trooper who pulled Abrego Garcia over for speeding and erratic driving.
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According to internal DHS records reviewed by Just the News, the stop raised red flags when officers discovered the driver had an expired license and was transporting several individuals from Texas to Maryland without any visible luggage.
Abrego Garcia claimed the passengers were being taken for construction work.
The SUV — a black 2001 Chevrolet Suburban — was traced back to Hernandez Reyes, who Abrego Garcia identified as his employer.
At the time of the stop, DHS flagged Abrego Garcia as a “suspect alien” potentially involved in human trafficking or smuggling operations.
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The records also indicate that the Baltimore field office of Homeland Security Investigations had separately flagged the same vehicle for its involvement in a smuggling route to the southern border.
“Vehicle is used by HSI Baltimore target in human smuggling/trafficking operation. Vehicle makes trips to southern border to pick up non-citizens,” reads a DHS memo obtained by Just the News.
The memo instructed officers to alert the Baltimore office if the vehicle was encountered again.
NEW: DHS has provided @FoxNews a bodycam image & HSI report from when Kilmar Abrego Garcia was pulled over by Tennessee Highway Patrol & was suspected of human trafficking in 2022. Per report, he had 8 people w/ no luggage in the car w/ him, & claimed to be driving them from TX… pic.twitter.com/d2uU6YuVKx
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 18, 2025
Hernandez Reyes was arrested in 2020 in Mississippi while transporting multiple illegal aliens from El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras.
Three of the individuals had previously been deported from the U.S. and were charged with unlawful reentry.
Hernandez Reyes later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
In March 2021, shortly before his release, the Biden-Harris administration reinstated his deportation order.
Further investigations showed that Hernandez Reyes and his brother-in-law, Modesto Alvarez, were operating a smuggling network based in Houston, Texas, transporting illegal immigrants to locations across the country.
Despite these findings, Abrego Garcia has recently been the focus of political attention, with Democrat lawmakers portraying him as a victim of the immigration system.
Several Democrat officials have traveled to El Salvador to push for his return to the U.S. following his deportation.
President Trump’s administration, however, has linked Abrego Garcia to the violent MS-13 gang.
Documents from the Department of Justice reference a field interview sheet from the Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland, where Abrego Garcia was identified by name and confirmed to be a member of the MS-13 gang, holding the rank of “Chequeo” within the Westerns clique.
The DOJ records indicate the information was corroborated by what the agency describes as a “past, proven, and reliable source.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi released the documents publicly on Wednesday.
“We are releasing additional information on Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Bondi stated, linking to the official Department of Justice site containing further details.
Lawmakers from both sides are watching closely as investigations continue into the individuals and networks involved in cross-border smuggling operations.
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