Judge rules Trump unlawfully invoked Alien Enemies Act
A federal judge in Texas ruled that former President Donald trump unlawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act to attempt the deportation of individuals alleged to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The ruling, delivered by Judge Fernando Rodriguez, stated that Trump did not meet the necessary legal criteria under the Act, which is designed for wartime scenarios. Even though Trump can still use other methods to deport Venezuelan migrants, the judge emphasized that allowing the president to define the conditions for using the Alien Enemies act would undermine judicial oversight and congressional intent. This decision arose from a lawsuit filed by Venezuelan nationals who claimed they were wrongfully accused and faced imminent deportation. The ruling follows a recent Supreme Court decision requiring federal authorities to provide reasonable notice to migrants before deportations. The Department of Justice may choose to appeal this decision.
Judge rules Trump unlawfully invoked Alien Enemies Act against alleged Tren de Aragua members
A federal judge in Texas found on Thursday that President Donald Trump did not meet the necessary criteria to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Tren de Aragua members, dealing a blow to the administration as it attempts to remove criminal illegal immigrants from the country quickly.
Judge Fernando Rodriguez, a Trump appointee, said in an order that Trump could still deport Venezuelan migrants detained in southern Texas using other, more routine authorities. However, Rodriguez said the Alien Enemies Act, a powerful wartime law, was not an option.
“The historical record renders clear that the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms,” Rodriguez said.
The Trump administration has argued that the courts lack the authority to weigh in on the president’s decision to use the Alien Enemies Act, but Rodriguez disagreed.
The judge said Trump did not provide evidence that Tren de Aragua was invading the United States at the behest of the Venezuelan government, which is a necessary condition to meet under the Alien Enemies Act.
“Allowing the President to unilaterally define the conditions when he may invoke the AEA and then summarily declare that those conditions exist, would remove all limitations to the Executive Branch’s authority under the AEA, and would strip the courts of their traditional role of interpreting Congressional statutes to determine whether a government official has exceeded the statute’s scope,” Rodriguez said.
The decision stemmed from a lawsuit brought by three Venezuelan nationals who said they were wrongly accused by the U.S. government of being members of Tren de Aragua and that they were at risk of imminent deportation to a foreign prison under the statute.
The lawsuit is one of several that have cropped up across the country in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling last month that federal authorities must give “reasonable” notice to migrants ahead of deporting them under the Alien Enemies Act so that they get the chance to protest their deportations in court.
SUPREME COURT BLOCKS TRUMP FROM DEPORTING NATIONALS UNDER ALIEN ENEMIES ACT
Later, in a separate lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas over the same matter, the high court ordered the Trump administration in a 7-2 decision to halt its use of the wartime law for anyone detained in that district. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.
The Department of Justice could file an appeal to Rodriguez’s decision. A DOJ spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
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