The Tennessee Star was the first to report that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the recently deported citizen of El Salvador, was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol and suspected of human trafficking in December 2022, with the agency ultimately confirming the “Biden-era FBI” instructed officers to release Abrego Garcia and his eight passengers, despite their suspicions of human trafficking and him presenting an invalid driver’s license.
The decision by highway patrol not to contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), which is empowered by state statute to train law enforcement officers how to detect human trafficking, and to investigate human trafficking cases across the state, appears to contradict established procedures.
For example, Tennessee Code 38-6-102 authorizes TBI to launch its own investigations into organized crime, especially investigations involving “an offense involving any form of trafficking,” establishing its ability to conduct such work. The statute also requires TBI to maintain a criminal intelligence unit to track information about the gangs operating within Tennessee.
Traveling with nine total individuals inside a vehicle without luggage, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed Abrego Garcia was suspected of human trafficking during the stop. Additionally, by December 2022, two judges had deemed Abrego Garcia likely to be a member of the Central American gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), though he denies this.
DHS additionally confirmed that Abrego Garcia was driving with an expired form of a Maryland driver’s license, which allows illegal immigrants to drive within the borders of that state, meaning he did not have a valid license to drive in Tennessee. Despite driving without a valid license being considered a Class B Misdemeanor in Tennessee, Abrego Garcia was cited only with a warning.
Additionally, Tennessee Code 38-6-114 requires TBI to establish instructional materials to inform other law enforcement members, including THP officers, on how to detect human trafficking.
Specifically, the legislation requires TBI to create a training program instructing officers on the “dynamics and manifestations of human trafficking,” how to identify and communicate the existence of the crime, as well as how to document such crimes effectively.
It also requires TBI to instruct officers on “[c]ollaboration with federal law enforcement officials,” as well as proper investigative techniques, civil and immigration remedies for victims, as well as how to protect those who were trafficked.
While the statute states that TBI must inform law enforcement agencies how to coordinate with federal officials, it does not solely mandate reporting to counterparts at the FBI or DHS, and at least one high-profile, recent example suggests highway patrol officers coordinate with TBI on such human trafficking cases.
In February 2023, TBI announced that special agents with its Human Trafficking Unit worked with THP officers to arrest and charge Chadwick Corley with trafficking a 17-year-old girl for commercial sex.
According to a TBI press release, the agency became aware of the case after “TBI human trafficking agents were contacted by the THP,” whose officer suspected human trafficking following a routine traffic stop in Hickman County, potentially indicating that contacting TBI with human trafficking concerns is part of the mandatory training the agency provides to law enforcement.
The Star contacted THP to verify whether the officers responsible for stopping Abrego Garcia received this mandatory training, but did not receive a response.
Despite the established lines of communication between TBI and THP, the training provided by TBI, and the suspicion of human trafficking by highway patrol officers, TBI told The Star that Abrego Garcia was not on its radar in response to an April 17th inquiry.
“We have had no documented interactions with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He has not been the subject of a TBI investigation,” the TBI spokesman told The Star.
In response to an Open Records Request, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which oversees THP, divulged to The Star this week that Abrego Garcia is part of a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agents” by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
An apparently blatant foul up of the THP. May be just the tip of the iceberg during the failed Biden administration. I am in favor of ALL illegal aliens being deported. Not just those with violent criminal records.
SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE INDICTED & PRISECUTED FOR ALLOWING THIS ANIMAL TO GET RELEASED.
If you or I were caught driving without a valid license, the car would be impounded. THP sent him on his way, putting in danger the very people they swore to protect.