A United States judge has issued a permanent injunction preventing the administration of President Donald Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) to deport Venezuelans from South Texas.Thursday’s ruling is the first of its kind — and is likely to be swiftly appealed.
It follows similar, if temporary, orders barring the government’s use of the law, as Trump seeks the rapid removal of undocumented immigrants from the country.
In his 36-page decision, US District Court Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr ruled that the Trump administration had “exceeded the statutory boundaries” of the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law.
Trump had issued an executive proclamation on March 15 to invoke the law against members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He argued that Tren de Aragua was “perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States”, thereby justifying such extreme measures.
The Alien Enemies Act, after all, had been invoked only three times before, most recently during World War II. Advertisement
But Judge Rodriguez said the threat of Tren de Aragua fell far short of the standards necessary to use the Alien Enemies Act, though he did concede the gang participated in activity that “unambiguously is harmful to society”.
“Th …
