A judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members held in New York, in the second legal blow to its removal plans in a week.
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled on Tuesday that the US can’t deport a group of suspected Tren de Aragua members under the Alien Enemies Act. He barred the enforcement of a March 15 proclamation by President Donald Trump that invoked the two-century-old wartime law and declared a gang “invasion” of the US.
“There is nothing in the AEA that justifies a finding that refugees migrating from Venezuela, or TdA gangsters who infiltrate the migrants, are engaged in an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion,’” Hellerstein wrote. “They do not seek to occupy territory, to oust American jurisdiction from any territory or to ravage territory.”
The ruling, part of a larger contest over the president’s immigration authority, comes less than a week after a federal judge in Texas found that Trump was unlawfully using the wartime law from 1798 to deport accused Venezuelan gang members from that state. Despite his setbacks, Trump won a Supreme Court ruling last month allowing deportations to resume, as long as detainees have a chance to challenge the government first.
The high court has yet to decide whether the administration’s interpretation of the Alien Enemies Act is correct.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Hellerstein’s ruling.
In the Texas case, US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, ruled last week that the US isn’t under invasion by a foreign force, a prerequisite for using the Alien Enemies Act. His ruling was the first on the legal merits of Trump’s efforts and prohibits the administration from applying it when removing people from within his district in southern Texas.
Neither of the judges placed restrictions on deporting Venezuelans in the US under the Immigration and Nationality Act, one of the main laws that govern the status of non-US citizens in the country and provide procedures for removal.
QuickTake: Why a Judge Blocked Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act
Hellerstein’s order applies in the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan, the Bronx and several suburban counties to the north of the city. It isn’t clear how many people the order affects. A Justice Department official estimated in a hearing last month that there were “less than 10” suspected Venezuelan gang members being held in a county jail in Goshen, New York.
In its ruling last month, the Supreme Court said the government can pursue efforts to deport alleged Tren de Aragua members but required they be given notice they are subject to expulsion under the Alien Enemies Act and an opportunity to have their cases presented to a judge. The court said detainees must file habeas corpus cases, or challenges to detention, in the districts where they are being held.
The cases are G.F.F. v. Trump, 25-cv-2886, US District Court, Southern District of New York , and J.A.V. v. Trump, 25-cv-072, US District Court, Southern District of Texas .
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