From Reuters: A federal judge in New Mexico on Sunday granted a preemptive restraining order to block the U.S. government from sending three Venezuelan men detained in the state from being sent to a military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Judge Kenneth Gonzales of the Federal District Court for New Mexico said during a video conference hearing that he was granting the order, said Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the men.
The court did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A court document confirming Gonzales’ action was not available by late Sunday.
Azmy is with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which earlier Sunday said in a written statement that the men had filed the motion requesting that their possible transfer to Guantanamo be blocked, though there had not yet been any such order to send them to the base.
The men have a pending case before a federal court in New Mexico challenging what they say is their unlawfully prolonged detention after they fled Venezuela seeking protection in the United States.
The CCR cheered their victory on social media Monday:
Last night, a federal court granted the request of three men in immigration detention for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent the Trump administration from sending them to Guantánamo.
The men, who have a pending case before the court challenging their unlawfully prolonged detention, are migrants who fled Venezuela seeking protection in the U.S. A motion filed on their behalf says they face a risk of imminent transfer to the island prison.
The men, who have a pending case before the court challenging their unlawfully prolonged detention, are migrants who fled Venezuela seeking protection in the U.S. A motion filed on their behalf says they face a risk of imminent transfer to the island prison.
— The CCR (@theCCR) February 10, 2025
Journalist Kyle Becker posted the judge’s photo and wrote:
Here is another judge who is under the delusion the American people had elected him President of the United States. This is Judge Kenneth J. Gonzalez, an Obama-appointed judge who just told the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces that he can’t deport Venezuelan gang members to Guantanamo Bay.
No one elected Judge Gonzalez to run the executive branch, and especially, the U.S. military.
These Venezuelan gang members are illegal aliens, meaning that Judge Gonzalez has not only violated separation of powers, but he is interfering with law enforcement on behalf of non-citizens.
This is a temporary restraining order, nevertheless, it is sheer hubris even to interfere with President Trump’s military orders. Judges who act like the American people elected them to run the executive branch should be impeached and removed.
Here is another judge who is under the delusion the American people had elected him President of the United States.
This is Judge Kenneth J. Gonzalez, an Obama-appointed judge who just told the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces that he can’t deport Venezuelan gang members… pic.twitter.com/7pCITPmlWL
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) February 10, 2025
A federal judge in New Mexico granted a preemptive restraining order to block the US government from sending three Venezuelan men detained in the state from being sent to a military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba https://t.co/pBlI91OY03
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 10, 2025
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