U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg declined to lift a restraining order barring the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans, determining migrants are likely to succeed in pushing for hearings on whether they are in a gang.
Boasberg noted President Trump’s “unprecedented use of the Act outside of the typical wartime context” in signing an order that allowed the removal of any Venezuelan suspected of being a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.
“Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on another equally fundamental theory: before they may be deported, they are entitled to individualized hearings to determine whether the Act applies to them at all,” Boasberg wrote.
“Because the named Plaintiffs dispute that they are members of Tren de Aragua, they may not be deported until a court has been able to decide the merits of their challenge.”
Boasberg noted that the Trump administration is still free to deport Venezuelans through regular immigration authorities.
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