Sunday reporting from The New York Times failed to accurately state the facts behind the federal charges accusing Kilmar Abrego Garcia of working in a human smuggling ring for nearly a decade, as the newspaper incorrectly stated the year Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), as well as the number of Hispanic male passengers he was allegedly smuggling.
An archive showing the first version of its Sunday article reporting the transfer of Abrego Garcia from federal facilities in Virginia to Pennsylvania initially claimed that Abrego Garcia was stopped by THP in 2019.
This was actually the year Abrego Garcia was arrested while allegedly in the company of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members, and was eventually issued a final deportation order which contained a withholding of removal provision barring his return to one of two nations, Guatemala or El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia was stopped by THP on November 30, 2022, as was first reported by The Tennessee Star in April.
That month, a spokesman for THP told The Star that troopers released the citizen of El Salvador at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI,” even though a federal document later confirmed that troopers suspected human trafficking during the traffic stop.
The Star notified The Times of this factual error on Monday, and The Times later issued a correction that emphasized a second factual error that had previously been overlooked by The Star.
“An earlier version of this article misstated the year Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was pulled over by law enforcement while driving eight passengers,” wrote The Times. “It was in 2022, not 2019.”
The U.S. Department of Justice indictment of Abrego Garcia specifically alleges he was transporting “nine additional passengers,” who were Hispanic males lacking any form of identification, in a modified Chevrolet Suburban said to be owned by Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, not eight as The Times incorrectly reported.
This error first occurred in the final paragraph of the article, when The Times noted, “prosecutors are alleging that Mr. Abrego Garcia earned money by helping people enter the United States illegally, citing an episode in 2022 during which Mr. Abrego Garcia was pulled over driving an S.U.V. that had ‘nine Hispanic males packed into’ it.”
It is unclear where The Times sourced this quote, as it does not seem to appear in the indictment, which instead notes, “There were nine additional passengers in Suburban, all of whom were Hispanic males, and none of whom had any identification,” meaning there were a total of 10 occupants in the vehicle.
Additionally, it is not accurate that the indictment alleges Abrego Garcia smuggled illegal immigrants into the United States. Prosecutors claim he transported illegal immigrants who were already in Texas to other parts of the country.
The purported owner is a convicted human smuggler who is now reportedly cooperating with the government in the case against Abrego Garcia. The Suburban, which Abrego Garcia was driving at the time of the traffic stop, is notably the largest Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) sold by Chevrolet, and modern vehicles come with a third row for passengers.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the human smuggling charges. His case is scheduled to reach trial in January 2026.
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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].
