Trump’s Alien Enemies Removals Blocked in New York, Colorado

Courts in New York and Colorado blocked the Trump administration from using a two-century old law to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, following a similar ruling by a judge in Texas last week.

Tuesday’s rulings by federal judges in Manhattan and Denver each concluded that the US can’t deport groups of suspected Tren de Aragua members under the Alien Enemies Act. They barred the enforcement of a March 15 proclamation by President Donald Trump that invoked the wartime law from 1798 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,’” US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, wrote in the New York case. “They do not seek to occupy territory, to oust American jurisdiction from any territory or to ravage territory.”

The rulings, part of a larger contest over the president’s immigration authority, come 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 Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the latest rulings.

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.

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 Denver, US District Judge Charlotte Sweeney granted a preliminary injunction that indefinitely extends the temporary order she issued last month blocking deportations in Colorado. On Tuesday she flatly rejected the government’s argument that the courts can’t review the president’s invocation of the AEA because it’s a “political question.”

“Nonsense,” wrote Sweeney, who was appointed by Joe Biden. “Courts — including this one — have rejected this meritless argument, and the court declines to indulge it further.”

The two migrants who challenged their detention in Colorado have both been accused by the government of having gang ties, according to the ruling. Sweeney said her ruling also applies to other detainees in Colorado being “who were, are, or will be subject” to the president’s March proclamation, though it wasn’t clear from court filings how many people the order affects.

Neither Hellerstein or Sweeney 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

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 (Manhattan), D.B.U. v. Trump, 25-cv-1163, US District Court, District of Colorado (Denver) and J.A.V. v. Trump, 25-cv-072, US District Court, Southern District of Texas (Brownsville).

(Adds Colorado ruling starting in first paragraph)

To contact the reporters on this story:
Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net;
Peter Blumberg in San Francisco at pblumberg1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Peter Jeffrey, Anthony Aarons

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