Two different federal judges blocked the Trump administration from deporting five Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gangbangers using the Alien Enemies Act.
One judge was appointed by President Trump and the other former President Bill Clinton.
Here’s more from the AP:
Federal judges in New York and Texas on Wednesday took legal action to block the government from moving five Venezuelans out of the country until they can fight the government’s attempt to remove them under a rarely-invoked law that gives the president the power to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war.
The men were identified as belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim their lawyers dispute.
Three men are being detained in a facility in Texas while two more are being held in an Orange County, New York, facility. One man in Texas is HIV positive and fears lacking access to medical care if deported.
Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. signed a temporary restraining order in Texas while Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said at a New York hearing that he planned to sign a temporary restraining order as well to block removals while the court challenges proceed.
The men were identified as gang members by physical attributes using the “Alien Enemy Validation Guide,” in which an ICE agent tallies points by relying on tattoos, hand gestures, symbols, logos, graffiti, and manner of dress, according to the ACLU. Experts who study the gang have told the ACLU the method is not reliable.
The lawsuit sought class action status to affect others who are detained and face similar deportation. The ACLU had requested a temporary restraining order to keep their petitioners in the U.S. and for the judge to declare the 18-century Alien Enemies Act, which the Trump administration is invoking, unlawful.
On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to use the wartime law to deport Venezuelans accused of being gang members, but it also ruled the administration must give Venezuelans the chance to legally fight any deportation orders.
The ruling did not address the constitutionality of the act. The ACLU is asking the judge in Texas to decide on whether it is lawful to use the Alien Enemies Act.
According to CNN, the ruling from the Supreme Court on the Alien Enemies Act did say people detained should be given adequate notice so that they can fight their detention:
Critically, the court made clear in its unsigned order that officials must give migrants subject to Trump’s proclamation adequate notice that they are being removed pursuant to the wartime authority so they have “reasonable time” to bring habeas complaints. Those are suits brought by people who claim they are being detained by the government unlawfully.
That’s how these two judges can temporarily bar Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport these five Tren de Aragua members. It’s only to give the government time to prove they are Tren de Aragua members and then they’ll be swiftly deported.