Washington — A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration cannot rely on the wartime Alien Enemies Act to detain or remove from the U.S. a group of Venezuelan migrants who are being held at a facility in southern Texas.
The decision from U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, appointed by President Trump in his first term, is a significant setback for the president as he seeks to crack down on illegal immigration into the U.S. Mr. Trump issued a proclamation in March invoking the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport Venezuelan migrants who he claims are members of the gang Tren de Aragua, but Rodriguez’s order permanently blocks the administration from using the AEA and Mr. Trump’s proclamation to detain, transfer or remove Venezuelan migrants who either live or are detained in the Southern District.
Rodriguez’s order clarifies that his permanent injunction does not prohibit administration officials from moving forward with removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“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 TdA,” Rodriguez wrote. “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.”
As a result of that finding, the judge said that the executive branch cannot use Mr. Trump’s invocation of the AEA through his proclamation to detain or remove the Venezuelan migrants in southern Texas.
This is a developing story and will be updated
