A federal judge has imposed a temporary hold on President Trump’s execution of swift deportations of Venezuelan criminals using the Alien Enemies Act, a law dating back to the 18th century. In response to this judicial intervention, Representative Brandon Gill, a Republican from Texas, has stated that he intends to bring impeachment articles against the judge. Earlier on that Saturday, US District Judge James Boasberg mandated a 14-day injunction on Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act from 1798. This order temporarily impedes President Trump’s plan to sidestep conventional immigration and criminal procedures to quickly deport a notorious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, using the Act.
Judge Boasberg, who was appointed to court by President Barack Obama in 2011, additionally instructed that any aircraft with these individuals on board which is poised to take off or already in the air should be returned to the United States, ensuring this directive is achieved by any possible means. Despite the swift intervention of the court, several suspected gang members had already been transferred to other countries. Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, shared a dramatic video the subsequent Sunday spotlighting over 250 members of Tren de Aragua and MS-13 who had been transported to the Central American nation.
The relocated gang members are to be detained in the country’s infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), serving as the result of a negotiation between President Bukele and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Judge Boasberg’s suspension order was put into effect mere hours following President Trump’s executive decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act from the 18th century and commence operations against the Venezuelan gang.
Under the auspices of the Alien Enemies Act, the President is granted the power during times of conflict to seize and deport citizens of an adversary nation. Earlier in the year, President Trump had designated the Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization. This global criminal organization has ties to a multitude of crimes ranging from human trafficking and drug smuggling to kidnappings and more in numerous states, including New York.
In his formal announcement in January, Trump stated that Tren de Aragua and another gang, MS-13, constitute an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ to national security, foreign policy, and the economy. President Trump’s recent deployment of the Alien Enemies Act marked its fourth-ever application, with the most contemporary precedent established during former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s term, post-Japanese attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base.
Roosevelt utilized this power to relocate people of Japanese, German, and Italian origin into internment camps. As Trump stated in an address clarifying his decision to exercise the authority, ‘Over the years, both national and local Venezuelan authorities have surrendered increasing control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including the TdA.’
The temporary block on Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act following Judge Boasberg’s intervention came after an urgent hearing on a lawsuit on a Saturday. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward for the deportation of five Venezuelans. ‘I do not believe I can wait any longer and am required to act,’ stated Judge Boasberg.
The judge’s order is intended to offer sufficient time for the courts to delve into the issue and deliver a decision on the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has already moved to appeal Judge Boasberg’s order in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.