A federal judge on Tuesday said the Trump administration can invoke the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport criminal illegal immigrant members of the Venezuelan Tren De Aragua gang, but that it has not given adequate prior notice to those subject to removal, before those deportations can take place, which would allow possible due process and habeas legal challenges.
The 43-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines, a Trump appointee, conflicts with other rulings challenging the administration’s deportation efforts.
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“Having done its job, the Court now leaves it to the Political Branches of the government, and ultimately to the people who elect those individuals, to decide whether the laws and those executing them continue to reflect their will,” Haines wrote.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.
Trump issued an executive order on March 14, “Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren De Aragua.”
Tuesday’s ruling was confined to Venezuelan aliens who are not naturalized or lawful permanent residents, 14 years or older, and have been specifically designated as part of a Foreign Terrorist Organization, specifically Tren de Aragua.
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Earlier this month, another judge stated that he would not prevent the administration from deporting individuals in the U.S. illegally but that the Alien Enemies Act could not be used as a basis to expel alleged gang members from the country.
“The question that this lawsuit presents is whether the President can utilize a specific statute, the AEA, to detain and remove Venezuelan aliens who are members of [Tren de Aragua]” U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., another Trump appointee, wrote in his order.
“As to that question, 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,” the order states.
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