Judge Orders Trump Administration to Provide Venezuelans 21 Days’ Notice Prior to Deportations
The order is applicable to all noncitizens in Colorado who are affected by Trump’s Tren de Aragua proclamation.
A federal judge ruled on April 22 that the Trump administration must give Venezuelans, who are arrested for supposed connections to the Tren de Aragua gang, three weeks’ notice prior to their removal from the country.
According to the order, government officials are required to provide these noncitizens with a 21-day notice informing them of the government’s intent to deport them, their right to hire an attorney, and their right to seek judicial review.
The notice “must be written in a language the individual understands,” Sweeney stated.
The judge further mandated that the government cannot remove any of the affected noncitizens from Colorado until at least May 6. By that time, the restraining order could be extended or transformed into a preliminary injunction for a longer period of relief.
Sweeney sided with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represents two Venezuelan nationals apprehended under Trump’s proclamation and who expressed fears of deportation.
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The ACLU lawyers have also sought court certification for a class action that would encompass all noncitizens in Colorado who have been, are, or will be affected by Trump’s proclamation.
“Where the Supreme Court has prohibited the government from removing members of a putative class that a district found not to be at risk of imminent or irreparable harm—based on the government’s representations—the Court must follow suit,” the judge noted.
Sweeney also stated that the Venezuelan immigrants fulfilled the criteria for a temporary restraining order. She argued that under the Alien Enemies Act, Trump’s assertion that Tren de Aragua (TdA), allegedly with the support of the Venezuelan government, is invading the United States is insufficient.
The government has failed to provide evidence of a foreign nation or government’s invasion of the country, which is a requirement under the act, according to the judge.
“At a minimum, ‘invasion’ implies more than the Proclamation’s characterization of TdA’s ‘infiltrat[ion],’ ‘irregular warfare,’ and ‘hostile actions’ against the United States,” the judge remarked while recognizing “the Proclamation’s conclusory account of ‘the devastating effects of [TdA’s] invasion.’”
