Federal judge rules against Trump, halts deportation of Venezuelans held in Texas under wartime act

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McALLEN — A federal judge in South Texas on Friday extended a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Trump Administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans detained in the Southern District of Texas.

The decision from U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez came at the request of attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union representing three Venezuelans who were facing deportation and secured a temporary restraining order halting their removal on Wednesday.

During a hearing on Friday, the judge extended the restraining order until April 25 and expanded it to include other detained Venezuelans in the Southern District of Texas — whether detained in federal or state facilities — and other Venezuelans in the district who could be subject to deportation under the Alien Enemies Act.

The Southern District includes the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Corpus Christi, Houston and Galveston.

An attorney representing the Trump Administration said they were not aware if there were other Venezuelans in the area who could be subject to deportation. The judge ordered the administration to provide a number by the next hearing, scheduled for April 24.

The three Venezuelans in the case were set to be the first to be deported after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. But the justices ruled that immigrants targeted under the act are entitled to the opportunity to challenge their deportation in court and must receive proper notice to do so.

The administration’s attorney said the administration was still reviewing the court’s order and was not prepared to state how much notice they would provide migrants of their pending removal.

The men, who were detained in Pennsylvania, California, and New York, were transferred to the El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville.

Rodriguez temporarily halted their removals after attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas stepped in, filing an emergency lawsuit on Wednesday to stop the removals and asking the judge to rule on whether it was lawful for the Trump Administration to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to deport people.

The judge also granted the ACLU’s request to stop the government from removing other Venezuelans detained at El Valle who could be subject to removal under the act, which dates back to 1798 and gives the president the authority to imprison and deport noncitizens of the U.S. during times of war. It was last used during World War II.

While the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela, the Trump Administration issued a proclamation last month invoking the Alien Enemies Act, claiming the U.S. faced threat of invasion by members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that the administration designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

The government claims the three detained Venezuelans are members of the gang but their attorneys deny that.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

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