Judge rules Trump's 'Alien Enemies' deportations illegal

A federal judge ruled Monday that President Trump’s proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportation of Venezuelan gang suspects is “unlawful,” and forbade the administration from citing that law to oust immigrants under the judge’s jurisdiction.

Judge David Briones, a Clinton appointee, said his decision applies to migrants in the federal Western District of Texas, where he sits.

He said Mr. Trump, in his proclamation invoking the AEA, never proved that the Venezuelan migrants at issue were engaged in an “invasion” or “incursion,” as the 1798 law requires. 

He also said the migrants, whom the president says are members of the Tren de Aragua gang, aren’t operating on the orders of Venezuela’s government, so there is no “foreign nation” involved — another requirement of the law.

Judge Briones said the administration didn’t allow the migrants to choose self-deportation, which the judge said is a required option under the AEA.

And he also said the way the administration was using the law violated the migrants’ “due process” rights to be able to challenge their designation as gang members, and their rights under the regular deportation system.

He said once noncitizens are “admitted” to the U.S. in some fashion, they attain those rights. And even if they haven’t been admitted, they still have some rights such as claiming asylum.

“It is an established principle in our nation that no one is above the law,” he wrote. “The government, too, must follow the law when effectuating removals from the United States. As explained by this court, Proclamation 10903 falls short.”

Another judge in southern Texas had previously ruled the president’s application of the AEA to be illegal, but in a much more limited decision.

Still another judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that Mr. Trump was largely on solid legal ground, though she said the administration did need to give more time to migrants to challenge their designations as gang members.

The Supreme Court has yet to rule squarely on the issue, though in several preliminary decisions it has taken a dim view of the expanse of Mr. Trump’s claims, including ordering a longer period of time to challenge deportations than the one day the administration was offering.