Former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova said Friday on Newsmax that the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States is not a defeat for President Donald Trump but "a complete victory" for both the president and the administration of justice.
Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man deported to El Salvador and now returned to the United States to face federal human smuggling charges, is at the center of what former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova calls "a complete victory" for Trump and the American justice system.
Appearing Friday on "The Chris Salcedo Show," diGenova pushed back against claims that Garcia's return is a loss for the administration.
"It's just the opposite," diGenova said. "Mr. Garcia is going to wish that he had stayed in El Salvador, where he was being kept in a medium-security prison with all kinds of privileges, at the behest of the president of El Salvador. To make things easier for him."
"He is now going to be on lockdown in the United States," diGenova continued. "If anybody on the left thinks this is a victory, that will show you how sick they are. What they should be concerned about are the women and children who are trafficked throughout this, the fentanyl that came into the country, and cocaine along with them."
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that Abrego Garcia had landed in the U.S. "to face justice." According to a two-count indictment unsealed by a Tennessee court last month, Abrego Garcia is accused of conspiring to transport people illegally within the United States. The charges allege he helped move individuals from Texas to other parts of the country as part of a long-running human smuggling operation, according to NBC News.
"This is a complete victory for the administration of justice, for the president," diGenova said. "And the fact that he's back in the United States should make the other cases moot. And I'm delighted. I think it couldn't be a better finish."
Garcia's deportation had sparked legal and political controversy, with critics questioning due process and others defending the administration's approach to immigration enforcement.
Federal officials have not said when Abrego Garcia will make his first court appearance in Tennessee.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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