Two judges bar war-powers deportations

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visits notorious El Salvador prison

(Image credit: Alex Brandon-Pool / Getty Images)

What happened

Federal judges in Texas and New York Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, the first such rulings since the Supreme Court lifted a nationwide injunction on Monday.

Who said what

Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan and Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. in Brownsville, Texas, issued separate temporary restraining orders barring the administration from using the rarely invoked 18th century wartime powers to deport migrants in their districts. Rodriguez, a Donald Trump appointee, said he wanted to ensure more Venezuelans weren't deported to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) from southern Texas until at least April 23, because if they were sent there "erroneously" — as happened with Kilmar Abrego García — a "substantial likelihood exists that the individual could not be returned."

"We're confident that people that are there should be there, and they should stay there for the rest of their lives," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday. CBS's "60 Minutes" reported Sunday that 75% of the 238 Venezuelans quietly deported from Texas to CECOT on March 15 had no discoverable criminal records; Bloomberg said Wednesday that about 90% of them had no U.S. criminal record.

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What next?

ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said his team was still hoping to get another nationwide injunction but was prepared to "go district by district" to block Alien Enemies Act deportations.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.