Two Judges Restrict Trump’s Deportation Powers Under Wartime Legislation
New legal actions have been initiated in Texas and New York following the Supreme Court’s removal of barriers in Washington.
Two federal judges have curtailed the Trump administration’s utilization of the Alien Enemies Act—a wartime statute that grants the president the authority to detain and remove noncitizens—to deport individuals in Texas and New York who filed lawsuits after the Supreme Court lifted analogous orders from Washington.
This order is set to expire on April 23, though an extension is possible.
It applies to three Venezuelan plaintiffs and others facing removal from a Texas detention center.
On the same day, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein issued a comparable order following a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union concerning two plaintiffs detained in New York.
These actions coincided with the Supreme Court’s decision to vacate two orders from a federal judge in Washington that had obstructed Trump’s capacity to deport individuals under the March 15 proclamation.
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The court’s unsigned opinion also mandated that the administration must provide notice to the detainees.
“Detainees must be informed after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act,” the Supreme Court’s opinion stated.
“The notice should be provided within a reasonable timeframe and in a manner that allows them to seek habeas relief in the appropriate venue before such removal takes place.”
Habeas relief refers to a legal means for detainees to contest their detention.
The lawsuit in Washington had pursued a different legal path, while the recent actions in Texas and New York aimed for relief through habeas.
In Rodriguez’s order, he noted that no immigration court had issued a final removal order against the three plaintiffs—referred to as “J.A.V.,” “J.G.G.,” and “W.G.H.” —though the government attempted to remove them based on Trump’s proclamation at least once.
In Washington, the administration informed U.S. District Judge James Boasberg that it had deported numerous others under legal authority distinct from the Alien Enemies Act.
Rodriguez mentioned in his order that without an injunction to halt the administration’s actions, the individuals “would be unable to seek habeas relief.”
The Department of Justice did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comments prior to publication.
Trump has previously stated that he would comply with court orders.
