A federal judge in Pennsylvania has handed the Trump administration a win on the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected Venezuelan gang members.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines, a Trump appointee to the bench in Pennsylvania, upheld Trump’s March 14 proclamation declaring that Tren de Aragua, a violent gang based in Venezuela, is mounting an “incursion” into the United States.
Though that “incursion” looks nothing like the military invasions the founders envisioned when they passed the Alien Enemies Act in 1798, Haines said old statutes can be applied to modern developments in the world. And she compared Tren de Aragua to the “military detachments or pirates” that pillaged the United States when the law was passed.
Judge Haines disagreed with judges who have previously denied President Trump's to use of this law.
Judges in Texas, Colorado and New York separately have issued orders blocking Alien Enemies Act deportations in their jurisdictions...
Haines disagreed, writing that the Alien Enemies Act “does not require an ‘invasion or predatory incursion’ to be 'perpetrated, attempted or threatened against the territory of the United States by the military of any foreign nation or government.’”
“The proclamation and the declarations that respondents have submitted to this Court indicate that there is a factual basis for President Trump’s conclusions in the Proclamation,” Haines wrote. That proclamation references the secretary of state’s designation of Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, which Haines said “heavily supports the conclusions” that the gang is a “cohesive group united by a common goal of causing significant disruption to the public safety of the United States.”
However, the judge also required the administration to give deportees more notice and time to contest their cases in court. The administration had argued that 24-hours notice was enough.
Like some of her colleagues, Judge Haines found that the administration had not given detainees held under the Alien Enemies Act sufficient due process, as required by the Supreme Court. But her finding that Mr. Trump’s proclamation under the act was legal increases pressure on the Supreme Court to resolve issues surrounding the president’s use of the 18th-century statute.
The ACLU is planning an appeal which will send it.to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We disagree with the ruling and will appeal because the Alien Enemies Act is a wartime measure that cannot be used during peacetime to address migration or criminal activity,” said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer for the A.C.L.U. “But we are pleased that the court rejected the government’s argument that they can remove people in a mere 12 hours.”
Mr. Gelernt said that “at the appropriate time,” he also planned to contest the government’s claim that his client, known by the initials A.S.R., was in fact a member of Tren de Aragua. The government has used an eight-point scale that assesses tattoos and clothing to decide who is and is not deportable under Mr. Trump’s proclamation, according to court documents.
The ruling only applies in the judge's district in western Pennsylvania and since it already conflicts with decisions be other judges, this is ultimately heading for the Supreme Court.
