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According to a federal judge appointed by President Trump in 2018,
From NBC News: A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelans it alleges are members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., of the Southern District of Texas, wrote in an opinion that he does not question the executive branch’s authority to direct the detention and removal of aliens who engage in criminal activity, and he noted the administration can continue to rely on the Immigration and Nationality Act for those proceedings.
But Rodriguez, who was nominated in Trump’s first term, wrote that the question at the center of the lawsuit was whether Trump could use the Alien Enemies Act to detain and remove Venezuelans who were members of Tren de Aragua, and he argued that “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.”
The Supreme Court had put a pause on deportations under the Alien Enemies Act at a time when buses with Venezuelans were headed to an airport from a detention center in the Northern District of Texas. Some of those on the bus said they were told they were destined for a prison in El Salvador, while others were told they were headed to Venezuela, according to the wife of one of the detainees and two lawyers representing other detainees at the facility.
The 36-page ruling by Judge Rodriguez stipulates that the Alien Enemies Act cannot be used to deport illegal alien Venezuelans. The judge also rejected the Trump administration’s argument that the TdA gang’s presence in the U.S. is an “invasion” or “predatory incursion,” saying those terms have typically been used in military endeavors. NBC writes:
The court found that an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” must be “an organized, armed force entering the United States to engage in conduct destructive of property and human life in a specific geographical area” but that “need not be a precursor to actual war.”
In a separate 12-page order, Judge Rodriquez opened the door for illegal alien Venezuelans to sue the Trump administration. Rodriquez ruled that Venezuelans targeted for deportation under the Alien Enemies Act in the Southern District of Texas may proceed with a class-action lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration.
NBC also announced: In a final judgment and permanent injunction, Rodriguez wrote that the administration was permanently enjoined from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport, transfer or remove the plaintiffs and other members of the class, but wrote that they were not prohibited from “proceeding with removal proceedings or otherwise acting” based on the Immigration and Nationality Act.
JUST NOW: Judge Rodriguez also denied an effort by the Trump administration to hurriedly deport *today* one of those AEA targets, Daniel Zacarias Matos, under other immigraiton authorities. He wants briefing on the matter and needs to consider jurisdiction.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 1, 2025
JUST IN: A federal judge in Texas, appointed by Donald Trump, will allow those targeted by the Alien Enemies Act in South Texas to proceed with a class action against the government. https://t.co/RTMmGs974N pic.twitter.com/6QJ0h7AnAg
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 1, 2025
READ MORE from NBC News.
BREAKING: Trump-appointed judge rules the administration can’t use the Alien Enemies Act to fast-track certain deportations, a blow to the president’s immigration policy. https://t.co/5XR6euV0VH
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 1, 2025
More from the New York Times:
While Judge Rodriguez’s decision applied only to Venezuelan immigrants in the Southern District of Texas — which includes cities like Houston, Brownsville and Laredo — it could have an effect, if not a binding one, on some of the other cases involving the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act.
“The court concludes that as a matter of law, the executive branch cannot rely on the A.E.A., based on the proclamation, to detain the named petitioners and the certified class, or to remove them from the country,” Judge Rodriguez wrote.
Breaking News: A Trump-appointed judge permanently barred the administration from invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans from his Texas district, saying that the White House’s use of the statute was illegal. https://t.co/38YSy3AT9s
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 1, 2025
ABOUT THIS JUDGE: Federal Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., 56, is a U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He was nominated by President Donald Trump in September 2017, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2018 in a 96-0 vote.
🚨 JUST IN: Trump-appointed Federal Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. rules President Trump can NOT use the Alien Enemies Act to remove certain illegals – POLITICO
He says Trump violated the law by invoking it in the context in which he did.
This is madness. pic.twitter.com/z3hFG1TXo6
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 1, 2025
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