After the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a temporary ban on President Donald Trump’s use of a 1798 law to expedite deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members, civil rights groups quickly filed a new legal challenge, signaling that the battle over the Alien Enemies Act is far from over.
On Tuesday, two Venezuelan men detained in Goshen, New York, requested U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan to stop the Trump administration from deporting them or using the 18th-century law to fast-track their removal from the country.
Hellerstein scheduled a hearing for Wednesday at 10 a.m. EDT to review the request by the two migrants, identified in court filings by their initials G.F.F. and J.G.O., to be protected from deportation while the judge considers their larger challenge. Their attorneys are hoping the case will represent a broader group, potentially numbering in the thousands, of Venezuelans who could face removal under the law.
This new lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in a different court than the previous challenge, marks the latest development in the legal struggle surrounding Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. The Supreme Court had issued a 5-4 ruling on Monday night, lifting a temporary hold placed by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C. that had blocked the deportation of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang under the act.
Although the Court sided with the administration, it imposed conditions on how deportations should proceed, stating that the U.S. government must provide sufficient notice to detainees to allow them the opportunity to contest their deportation.
In their lawsuit, the two plaintiffs argue that they were never given the chance to challenge the government’s claim that they were members of the Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. has labeled as a foreign terrorist organization. “There remains an unacceptably high risk that the government will deport class members who are not in fact members of TdA,” the ACLU said in a court filing.
As of March 18, 258 alleged gang members were in immigration proceedings, with 86 detained, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was appointed by Trump, vowed in a social media post, “We will continue to deport violent terrorists.”
Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a law historically used during World War II to intern Japanese, Italian, and German immigrants, on March 15. This allowed for the deportation of alleged Tren de Aragua members without waiting for final orders from immigration judges, which is typically required.
Boasberg had temporarily blocked these deportations, ruling that Trump may have exceeded his authority under the law, as it was intended for use during wartime or when the U.S. is under invasion.
The Supreme Court’s decision to lift the temporary restraining orders from Boasberg means that the deportations of alleged gang members will proceed, but with some restrictions. For example, detainees must be given the opportunity to contest their deportation in Texas, where many are being held, rather than in Washington, D.C.
The legal fight continues as the Trump administration moves forward with its controversial plan to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals. Boasberg is also separately reviewing whether the administration should be held in contempt for failing to reverse deportations that occurred while his temporary block was in place.
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, the situation remains fluid, particularly for those detained in El Salvador, where some of the deported Venezuelans are being held in prisons. The court did not address how these individuals might seek judicial review of their cases.
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