Federal judge OKs use of Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans

Relatives of Venezuelan migrants successful the U.S. who were flown to a situation successful El Salvador by the U.S. government, which alleged they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, protestation extracurricular the United Nations gathering successful Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Cristian Hernandez/AP hide caption

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Cristian Hernandez/AP

A national justice says President Donald Trump tin usage the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan citizens who are shown to beryllium members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

The ruling Tuesday from U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines successful Pennsylvania appears to beryllium the archetypal clip a national justice has signed disconnected connected Trump's proclamation calling Tren de Aragua a overseas violent enactment and invoking the 18th period wartime instrumentality to deport radical labeled arsenic being members of the gang.

Also Tuesday, different national justice successful the occidental territory of Texas temporarily barred the Trump medication from utilizing the Alien Enemies Act to deport radical successful that region. At slightest 3 different national judges person said Trump was improperly utilizing the AEA to velocity deportations of radical the medication says are Venezuelan pack members.

Haines, a Trump appointee, besides said the medication hasn't been giving capable announcement to radical facing removal nether the AEA. She ordered the medication to supply astatine slightest 21 days announcement — acold longer than the 12 hours that immoderate deportees person been given.

"This lawsuit poses important issues that are profoundly interwoven with the law principles upon which this Nation's authorities is founded," Haines wrote. "In approaching these issues, the Court begins by stressing the questions that it is not resolving astatine this time."

The ruling doesn't code whether the medication tin region radical nether different migration laws, nor does it code whether Trump tin invoke the Alien Enemies Act to deport radical who simply migrated to the U.S. and who aren't members of a overseas violent organization, Haines wrote. She besides did not measurement successful connected whether radical suspected of being members of different gangs could beryllium removed nether the act.

But she did accidental the Act tin beryllium utilized to region Venezuelan citizens who are astatine slightest 14 years old, who are successful the U.S. without ineligible migration status, and who are members of Tren de Aragua.

"Having done its job, the Court present leaves it to the Political Branches of the government, and yet to the radical who elite those individuals, to determine whether the laws and those executing them proceed to bespeak their will," Haines wrote.

Trump issued a proclamation successful March claiming that Tren de Aragua was invading the U.S. He said helium had peculiar powers to deport immigrants, identified by his medication arsenic pack members, without the accustomed tribunal proceedings. After the proclamation, the medication began deporting radical designated arsenic Tren de Aragua members to a notorious situation successful El Salvador.

The proclamation and deporations sparked a flurry of lawsuits successful aggregate states — including the 1 that led to Haines' ruling Tuesday. That lawsuit was brought a Venezuelan nationalist who says helium fled to the U.S. with his woman and children successful 2023 aft facing extortion successful his ain country. He was arrested successful February aft a neighbour reported that helium is simply a subordinate of Tren de Aragua — a assertion the antheral vehemently denies.

Haines initially approved the lawsuit arsenic a people action, temporarily blocking the Trump medication from utilizing the AEA to deport immoderate migrants successful her district. But she lifted that designation Tuesday, clearing the mode for deportations to resume arsenic agelong arsenic the radical being removed are fixed astatine slightest 21 days announcement successful English and Spanish arsenic good arsenic an "opportunity to beryllium heard" connected immoderate objections they mightiness have.

In the Texas case, a pistillate said she fled Venezuela aft she was subjected to repeated harassment, battle and intimidation arsenic a signifier of governmental persecution. She came to the U.S. successful 2023 and was granted impermanent protected status, and is presently seeking asylum.

But past period she was arrested successful Ohio and accused of being a pack member, which she denies. She is presently being held successful El Paso, and asked Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones to halt the Trump medication from deporting her and different detainees successful the portion because, she said, the president's proclamation violates the owed process rights of radical facing removal and wrongly equates Tren de Aragua arsenic an penetration by a overseas government.

Briones said she was apt to win connected the merits, and temporarily barred the medication from transferring the pistillate oregon different radical successful the portion accused of being Tren de Aragua members into different districts oregon deporting them nether the Alien Enemies Act.