Federal Judge Opens Door To Alien Enemies Act Targets Suing Trump Administration

A national judge has allowed Venezuelans targeted for deportation nether nan Alien Enemies Act successful nan Southern District of Texas to proceed pinch a class-action suit against President Donald Trump's administration. 

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., who was appointed by Trump during his first term, issued a 12-page bid Thursday granting a group of petitioners "class certification." 

"The different circumstances of this lawsuit coming a compelling justification to utilize a process balanced to a people action authorized by Rule 23," Rodriguez wrote. 

The Trump management has based on nan petitioners person "no basis" to found a protected ineligible people "to resoluteness whether an alien has been decently included successful nan class of alien enemies–necessarily individual determinations."

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More than 250 suspected pack members get successful El Salvador aft being deported by nan Trump management March 16, 2025.   (El Salvador Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The judge considered whether individual "habeas corpus hearings" would beryllium required for each Venezuelan nationalist targeted nether nan Alien Enemies Act successful nan Southern District of Texas to find whether they are members of Tren de Aragua, nan Venezuelan pack nan State Department designated arsenic a overseas violent statement successful March. Rodriguez said "requiring individualized habeas corpus proceedings to many times reside nan communal ineligible issues unduly wastes judicial resources." 

Trump issued an executive order March 14, "Invocation of nan Alien Enemies Act Regarding nan Invasion of nan United States by Tren De Aragua." 

About 100 group person been detained successful nan Southern District of Texas and "designated arsenic alien enemies nether nan Proclamation," Rodriguez noted. 

"The coming matter raises galore communal questions of law, but besides indisputably raises immoderate questions of truth that would require individualized hearings to resolve," Rodriguez wrote Thursday. "As to nan former, Petitioners situation nan lawfulness of nan President’s invocation of nan AEA done nan Proclamation. 

"They argue, primarily, that nan preconditions required to use nan AEA do not exist, that nan intended exertion of nan Proclamation and nan AEA break nan designated alien enemies’ owed process authorities nether nan Constitution, and that nan procedures that Respondents activity to travel break nan Immigration and Nationality Act and nan Convention Against Torture.

More than 250 suspected pack members get successful El Salvador by level March 16, 2025, including 238 alleged members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua pack and 23 members of nan MS-13 pack who were deported. (El Salvador Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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"These issues clasp existent for immoderate individual that Respondents designate arsenic an alien force nether nan Proclamation and taxable to removal nether nan AEA," nan bid said. "A favorable consequence connected immoderate of these ineligible theories arsenic to 1 individual will beryllium arsenic applicable to different Venezuelan aliens designated arsenic alien enemies nether nan Proclamation. As a result, nan Court finds that Petitioners place astatine slightest 1 contention that is cardinal to nan validity of each people member’s claims."

The judge acknowledged that, astatine nan aforesaid time, "petitioners cannot contradict that whether immoderate peculiar individual is simply a personnel of TdA would require a fact-specific, individualized determination."

"It is existent that nan Court would person to find nan applicable ineligible standard, and this study would use to each people member. But nan hearings themselves would proceed individually, arsenic nan applicable facts for each personification differ," he said. 

According to Reuters, nan Trump management deported astatine slightest 137 Venezuelans from nan El Valle Detention Center successful Raymondville, Texas, nether nan Alien Enemies Act March 15, but relatives of dozens of nan men opportunity they are not TdA members.

In a abstracted 36-page opinion, Rodriguez besides said Thursday nan Trump management could not trust connected nan Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals who are TdA personnel anyhow because nan gang's beingness successful nan U.S. cannot beryllium classified arsenic an "invasion" aliases "predatory incursion" nether national law. 

"Neither nan Court nor nan parties mobility that nan Executive Branch tin nonstop nan detention and removal of aliens who prosecute successful criminal activity successful nan United States," Rodriguez, nominated by Trump successful 2018, wrote. "The President’s invocation of nan AEA done nan Proclamation exceeds nan scope of nan statute and is contrary to nan plain, mean meaning of nan statute’s terms.

Seventeen alleged members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua pack and members of nan MS-13 pack who were deported to El Salvador by nan U.S March 31, 2025.  (El Salvador Press Presidency Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"The Court concludes that nan President’s invocation of nan AEA done nan Proclamation exceeds nan scope of nan statute and, arsenic a result, is unlawful," Rodriguez wrote.

In mid-April, Rodriguez granted a impermanent restraining bid preventing nan Trump management from removing Venezuelans held astatine nan Raymondville detention center. The judge later broadened his ruling to protect each Venezuelans detained successful his judicial district, which includes nan cities of Houston, Galveston, Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville, Corpus Christi and Victoria, from deportation. 

Rodriguez’s ruling Thursday is important because it is nan first general imperishable injunction against nan management utilizing nan AEA and contends nan president is misusing nan law. The Trump management claims that TdA is acting astatine nan behest of nan Venezuelan government. 

"The Proclamation makes nary reference to and successful nary mode suggests that a threat exists of an organized, equipped group of individuals entering nan United States astatine nan guidance of Venezuela to conquer nan state aliases presume power complete a information of nan nation," Rodriguez wrote. "Thus, nan Proclamation’s connection cannot beryllium publication arsenic describing behaviour that falls wrong nan meaning of ‘invasion’ for purposes of nan AEA."

The judge besides noted that nan proviso has only been utilized during nan 2 World Wars and nan War of 1812. 

If nan management appeals, it would spell first to nan New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That is among nan nation’s astir blimpish appellate courts, and it besides has ruled against what it saw arsenic overreach connected migration matters by some nan Obama and Biden administrations.

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The Supreme Court already has weighed successful erstwhile connected nan rumor of deportations nether nan AEA. The justices held that migrants alleged to beryllium pack members must beryllium fixed "reasonable time" to title their removal from nan country.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.