A Pennsylvania judge upheld the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrants identified as part of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang in a ruling on Tuesday.
In Tuesday’s ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Haines noted that while President Donald Trump’s administration can use the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrants who are part of the Tren de Aragua gang, which has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the administration has not given enough notice to the individuals it has deported under the act.
“As the Court stressed at the beginning of this Opinion, this case implicates significant issues. In resolving those issues, this Court’s unflagging obligation is to apply the law as written,” Haines wrote. “When the Court does so, it finds that the Proclamation now at issue complies with the [Alien Enemies Act], and the Court further finds that Respondents must provide greater notice to those subject to removal under the AEA than they are currently providing.”
Haines explained that the federal government needs to provide illegal immigrants subject to deportation under the Alien Enemies Act with 21 days’ notice and an opportunity for legal challenges, according to NBC News. The outlet noted that the judge’s ruling only provides guidance for her district in Pennsylvania.
In Tuesday’s ruling, Haines added, “Having done its job, the Court now leaves it to the Political Branches of the government, and ultimately to the people who elect those individuals, to decide whether the laws and those executing them continue to reflect their will.”
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In Tuesday’s ruling, Haines explained that both Trump’s proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act in March and the “declarations” submitted to the court indicated that there was “factual basis for President Trump’s conclusions in the Proclamation.”
The judge, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by Trump, noted that the president’s proclamation referenced Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s designation of Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Haines said Tren de Aragua’s designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization “heavily supports the conclusions within the Proclamation that TdA is a cohesive group united by a common goal of causing significant disruption to the public safety of the United States.”
“Therefore, for all of the foregoing reasons, the Court finds that the Proclamation meets the definition of ‘predatory incursion’ under the AEA, and the Court finds that ASR has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits on the issue,” Haines added.
According to Fox News, Tuesday’s district court ruling is limited to Venezuelan illegal immigrants who are 14 years or older and who have been designated as members of a Foreign Terrorist Organization, such as Tren de Aragua.
