A federal judge has declined to lift a restraining order that bars the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport five Venezuelans.
On March 24, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled migrant Venezuelans are likely to succeed in pushing for hearings on whether they are part of the infamous Tren de Aragua gang.
In his ruling, Boasberg noted Trump’s “unprecedented use of the Act outside of the typical wartime context.”
On March 15, Boasberg issued the temporary restraining order block the administration’s efforts to deport five Venezuelan nationals.
“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 said the administration still can deport Venezuelans through regular means.
“The order did not prevent defendants from removing anyone — to include members of the class — through other immigration authorities such as the [Immigration and Nationality Act],” Boasberg wrote. “Indeed, as previously mentioned, those affiliated with Tren de Aragua were all already deportable under that statute as members of an (foreign terrorist organization).”
Last week, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has joined a coalition of 26 attorneys general in defending the Trump administration’s recent actions to combat Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
In the brief filed last week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the AGs request a stay of the district court's recent Temporary Restraining Order that halts the Trump administration’s actions to address this violent and dangerous group recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
“Removing violent Tren De Aragua gang members shouldn’t be controversial,” Murrill said. “Joe Biden let them in, President Trump is removing them and has full authority to do so. I absolutely support deporting these terrorists from the United States of America.
This is exactly what Louisianans voted for.”
South Carolina AG Alan Wilson agreed.
“Labeling Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization underscores just how serious this is,” Wilson said. “Yet, instead of supporting President Trump’s rightful authority to protect our nation, the district court is trying to stand in his way.
“Let’s be clear — Tren de Aragua isn’t just a gang, it’s an arm of the Venezuelan government. This isn’t just crime spilling over our border — it’s an invasion, and ignoring it puts American lives at risk.”
The brief by the AGs asserts that the district court’s temporary restraining order should be stayed for two main reasons: it jeopardizes public safety across the United States, and it fails to properly recognize the administration's constitutional and statutory authority to protect national security.
Murrill said the district court’s decision undermines the president’s constitutional and statutory authority and said Trump acted within his rights under the Constitution and the laws of the United States, particularly through the powers granted by Article II. These powers provide the president with the robust authority to take action against foreign threats, including transnational criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua.
The AG’s brief says each state is directly impacted by criminal activity perpetuated by violent foreign gangs and has an interest in protecting its citizens from such criminal activity.
“President Trump’s recent executive order uses constitutional and statutory authority to deport Venezuelan citizens who are members of TdA and are not American citizens or lawful permanent residents,” the filing states. “The same day a complaint was filed challenging this action and without briefing from the federal government, however, a lone district judge certified a class of noncitizens in custody affected by the order and issued a nationwide temporary restraining order barring the administration from immediately removing foreign terrorists, regardless of the threat they present to our citizens.”
Wilson co-led the brief with Virginia. In addition to Louisiana, other states that joined the brief are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.