A federal judge on Saturday night ordered an immediate two-week halt to all deportations of Venezuelan illegal immigrants with ties to the Tren de Aragua gang as he weighs the legality of President Donald Trump‘s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to do so.
Earlier Saturday, Trump issued a proclamation declaring an invasion by the Venezuelan-based gang and ordering the immediate deportation of all Venezuelan illegal immigrants 14 years and older who are members of Tren de Aragua. In the proclamation, Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law that has only been used three times in U.S. history and allows for the deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the chief judge in the District of Columbia, after granting a temporary restraining order blocking the deportation of five Venezuelans already in immigration custody, ordered a further 14-day pause on all efforts to deport Venezuelan illegal immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act.
He contended that the Venezuelans face irreparable harm, “given that these folks will be deported and many or the vast majority to prisons in other countries or sent back to Venezuela, where they face persecution, or worse.”
A lawyer representing the Justice Department had urged Boasberg not to intervene in the deportations, pointing to their extensive criminal histories.
“Most or all of them are incredibly dangerous individuals,” the lawyer said.
The ruling came as two deportation flights believed to be for Venezuelan illegal immigrants had already left an airport in Harlingen, Texas, and were close to their destinations in El Salvador and Honduras.
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Boasberg addressed that issue in the hearing, ordering immediate compliance with his ruling.
“Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States however that is accomplished. Make sure it’s complied with immediately,” he said.
