Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-05) is demanding that the Tennessee Department of Security and Homeland Security release the full, unredacted video footage and materials related to the 2022 traffic stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia on I-40 in Putnam County by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers.
Last month, The Tennessee Star was the first to report that Abrego Garcia was suspected of being engaged in human trafficking by THP officers who detained him during the 2022 traffic stop; however, he was let go at the time after the Biden-era Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) requested that the state officers release him and the nine other passengers in the vehicle.
Last week, bodycam footage obtained by The Star through an Open Records Request showed officers believed Abrego Garcia was transporting the passengers “for money,” though only one trooper’s footage was provided, with audio heavily redacted and identifying details – including the license plate of the vehicle – blurred by the Tennessee Department of Security and Homeland Security.
🚨 NEW investigation by @RepMarkGreen:
“We will get to the bottom of why Abrego Garcia was released by the Biden-Harris administration despite the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s suspicions of human trafficking."
More via @JennieSTaer @nypost 👇https://t.co/8G3aMl9wTd
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) May 9, 2025
On Friday, Green, in his capacity as chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to the Tennessee agency demanding “full” and “unredacted” versions of all footage and reports from the traffic stop, according to the New York Post.
In addition, the outlet said Green also requested a list of all FBI personnel who were involved in discussions to release Abrego Garcia.
Green, in a statement to the outlet, said the materials he has requested from the agency will “shed light on, and ensure the end of, the reckless, open-borders policies of the Biden-Harris administration.”
“We will get to the bottom of why Abrego Garcia was released by the Biden-Harris administration despite the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s suspicions of human trafficking,” Green added.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Rep Mark Green” by Rep Mark Green.
