Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 33
Agencies: A federal judge in Colorado on Monday temporarily blocked the deportation of two Venezuelan immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, a law dating back to 1798, according to The New York Times.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the case, is challenging the Trump administration’s use of the rarely invoked statute to deport Venezuelan nationals accused — without formal charges — of gang affiliation.
The case centers on two men identified only by their initials, D.B.U. and R.M.M., who both deny being affiliated with Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang that officials claim is operating within US borders.
One man, 32-year-old D.B.U., was arrested on Jan. 26 at what federal agents described as a gang-affiliated party. He has not been charged with any crime.
The other, R.M.M., 25, was detained last month after allegedly being spotted near a home under surveillance. The court filings state he was “meeting a prospective buyer for his vehicle at a public meeting.”
The ruling follows similar legal actions in New York and Texas, where courts are reviewing the Trump administration’s controversial decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act — a statute passed in 1798 and used only three times in US history.
Last month, over 100 Venezuelan migrants were deported under the same statute, some sent to El Salvador’s controversial CECOT prison, a facility internationally condemned for human rights violations.
The US Supreme Court recently ruled that immigrants must be given notice and the opportunity to challenge deportation orders in local courts. The decision prompted the American Civil Liberties Union to file several emergency lawsuits.
Omar Jadwat, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project stated that the administration is misusing “a dangerous statute never intended for immigration enforcement.” The legal fight is expected to expand nationwide.
The Trump administration has defended the deportations as a necessary response to what it describes as “foreign criminal infiltration,” citing recent arrests of alleged gang affiliates. Critics argue the policy is a sweeping overreach with severe humanitarian risks.
