March 16, 2025

Trump and courts

 The Guardian - Donald Trump has invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport five Venezuelan nationals from the US. The White House issued a presidential proclamation on Saturday targeting Venezuelan members of gang Tren de Aragua, saying: “Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with thousands of members, many of whom have unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.”

Civil liberties organizations have accused Trump of invoking the 1798 act unlawfully during peacetime to accelerate mass deportations and sidestep immigration law.  Hours later, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s administration from using the act to carry out its intended deportations of the Venezuelans.

US district judge James Boasberg of the federal district court in Washington DC agreed on Saturday to issue temporary restraining order that prevents the Venezuelans’ deportation for 14 days.  “Given the exigent circumstances that it [the court] has been made aware of this morning, it has determined that an immediate Order is warranted to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set,” Boasberg wrote in his order.


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