Federal judge rules Trump cannot use Alien Enemies Act to deport Tren de Aragua terrorists: 'Unlawful'



President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on March 15 invoking the Alien Enemies Act and declaring that Tren de Aragua is "a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization" aligned with the Venezuelan Maduro regime that "is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States."

"I proclaim that all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of TdA, are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies," added Trump.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump's invocation of the AEA through the proclamation was "unlawful" and barred the Trump administration from using it against Venezuelan aliens in the court's judicial district.

The administration deported at least 137 Venezuelan aliens under the law on March 15.

'The Proclamation does not suggest that they have done so through an organized armed attack.'

While claiming at the outset that neither "the Court nor the parties question the Executive Branch's authority and responsibility to enforce federal laws," U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. appears to have done just that.

The judge indicated that Trump's March 15 proclamation satisfactorily placed responsibility for Tren de Aragua's actions in the U.S. on the Venezuelan government — precluding the need to determine whether the terrorist gang represents a foreign nation or government. Rodriguez noted, however, that the activities of the terrorist gang inside the U.S. "do not fall within the plain, ordinary meaning of 'invasion' or 'predatory incursion' for the purposes of the AEA."

While Tren de Aragua terrorists might have illegally entered the nation, "harmed lives in the United States and engage in crime, the Proclamation does not suggest that they have done so through an organized armed attack, or that Venezuela has threatened or attempted such an attack through TdA members," wrote the judge.

Rodriguez concluded that "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 claims."

While numerous courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have blocked the Trump administration's deportations under the AEA, Rodriguez is reportedly the first judge to have reached a final decision on the merits.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the lawsuit with the ACLU of Texas to keep suspected foreign terrorists from being deported, celebrated the decision.

ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement, "Congress never meant for this 18th-century wartime law to be used this way. This is a critically important decision that prevents more people from being sent to the notorious CECOT prison."

Reuters indicated that neither the White House nor the Department of Justice responded to its requests for comment.

On Thursday, Rodriguez also allowed Venezuelans targeted for deportation under the AEA to proceed with a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration, reported WFIN.com.

"The unusual circumstances of this case present a compelling justification to utilize a procedure equivalent to a class action authorized by Rule 23," wrote Rodriguez.

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ACLU sues to prevent Trump admin from deporting alien enemies in wake of SCOTUS decision



The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with President Donald Trump, lifting an Obama judge's order that temporarily blocked the president's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected terrorists who have stolen into the homeland.

While Trump called it a "great day for justice in America!" and Attorney General Pam Bondi said the decision was "a landmark victory for the rule of law," the fight was apparently not over. The high court afforded alien enemies and their leftist champions another opportunity to challenge removals under the act by the Trump administration, explaining that their lawsuits must be brought where they are being held — not in Washington, D.C.

The American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union seized upon that opportunity on Tuesday, filing a lawsuit in a Democratic enclave on behalf of a pair of military-age Venezuelan nationals fit for removal under the Alien Enemies Act.

One of the illegal aliens is a supposedly non-straight 21-year-old Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. in May 2024 and was subsequently identified by the Department of Homeland Security as an "associate/affiliate of Tren de Aragua." The other is a 32-year-old Venezuelan who stole into the U.S. in 2022, allegedly because his political activism back home jeopardized his safety. Both illegal aliens were parties to the ACLU's original lawsuit targeting the administration's use of the AEA.

The Trump administration is targeting Venezuelan nationals who are members of the terrorist organization, 'are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States.'

The ACLU has asked a Clinton appointee, U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, to assume jurisdiction, to block the Trump administration from removing the illegal aliens under the act, and to certify the Venezuelan duo as representatives of a class of illegal aliens.

A judge ordered the Trump administration to refrain from ousting the two men before a hearing Wednesday morning, as it had with hundreds of others under the AEA in March, reported The Hill.

The lawsuit claims that Trump's proclamation "contorts the plain language" of the 1798 law; the AEA "plainly only applies to warlike actions"; Venezuelan nationals are not invading the U.S.; Venezuela "has not launched a predatory incursion" into the country; "'mass illegal immigration' or criminal activities, as described in the Proclamation, plainly do not fall within the statutory boundaries"; and the use of the AEA has caused and will continue to cause the apparent alien enemies harm.

In his March 15 proclamation titled "Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren De Aragua," Trump stated that Tren de Aragua — which his administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization — "is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States."

"TdA is undertaking hostile actions and conducting irregular warfare against the territory of the United States both directly and at the direction, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela," added the president.

Contrary to the suggestion in the lawsuit, the Trump administration is targeting Venezuelan nationals who are members of the terrorist organization, "are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies."

The ACLU is, therefore, pushing for a class action lawsuit against the administration on behalf of suspected foreign terrorists.

The New York Civil Liberties Union said in a statement on the liberal X knockoff Bluesky, "No one should face the horrifying prospect of lifelong imprisonment without a fair hearing, let alone in another country."

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Judge Overreaches Amid Latest Lawfare Against Trump

Judge James Boasberg hastily took command and control over the latest iteration of lawfare. His orders and reactions are laden with error.