Judge Blocks Trump’s Efforts to Deport Gang Members Under 1798 Alien Enemies Act

A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s efforts to rapidly deport members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua through use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. On Saturday, Trump issued a presidential proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act specifically to speed along the deportations of all Venezuelan nationals who are 14 years old or older, who are members of Tren de Aragua, and who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States. Hours before Trump issued his proclamation, lawyers for five Venezuelan detainees being processed for deportation from the United States filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the president’s deportation practice. In response, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued an order barring the deportation of those five plaintiffs identified in the lawsuit for at least the next two weeks, as the legal proceedings continue....