FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chairman Green Investigates Release of Alleged Gang Member Kilmar Abrego Garcia Despite Suspected Human Smuggling
In the letter, Chairman Green requests an unredacted copy of all body and dash camera footage of the traffic stop, unredacted copies of THP notes and reports on the traffic stop, the names of FBI and THP employees or contractors engaged in communications regarding the traffic stop, and the results of any queries conducted by THP in the National Crime Information Center database regarding the traffic stop. Read the full letter here.
Read more in the New York Post.
In the letter, Chairman Green writes, “On May 1, 2025, the Tennessee Star posted a redacted body camera video depicting Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers conducting a traffic stop on November 30, 2022 of a vehicle driven by Mr. Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Mr. Abrego Garcia was stopped for driving erratically and speeding and was found to be driving a car full of people. In the video, a THP officer states that he believes Mr. Abrego Garcia is ‘hauling these people for money,’ presumably indicating that he suspected Mr. Abrego Garcia was being paid to smuggle illegal aliens. Mr. Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle allegedly owned by Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, an illegal alien who pled guilty to smuggling illegal aliens into the United States in 2020.”
Chairman Green continues, “The THP officers utilized federal law enforcement intelligence during their stop and investigation of Mr. Abrego Garcia. According to a Homeland Security Investigations Combined Intelligence Unit (CIU) report, THP queried Mr. Abrego Garcia in the National Crime Information Center database following the traffic stop. The CIU report states that Mr. Abrego Garcia was a validated member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13), a transnational criminal organization. Additionally, the THP officers were reportedly in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who allegedly advised THP to not detain Mr. Abrego Garcia. Despite Mr. Abrego Garcia’s traffic violations and the THP officers’ suspicions of human trafficking, the officers ultimately released Mr. Abrego Garcia. The Committee is concerned that inadequate or ineffective information sharing between federal agents and the THP officers during the Biden Administration may have led to the release of an active gang member and potential human trafficker.”
Background:
According to the Department of Justice, Abrego Garcia has repeatedly been identified as a member of MS-13. When questioned by law enforcement alongside known members of the gang in 2019, Abrego Garcia admitted to crossing the border illegally in 2012. In 2021, Abrego Garcia’s wife filed a temporary protective order against him for domestic violence.
Chairman Green published an op-ed last week in which he explains why he said no to House Homeland Democrats using taxpayer dollars to fund trips to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
