A federal judge in Texas appointed by President Donald Trump has ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully invoked the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to expedite the deportation of Venezuelan migrants alleged to be members of the gang Tren de Aragua. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez issued a detailed 36-page ruling on Thursday permanently barring the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to detain, transfer, or remove these individuals within the Southern District of Texas.
Judge Rodriguez found that the president’s use of the wartime statute exceeded the scope intended by Congress and contradicted the plain meaning of the law’s language. He emphasized that allowing the executive branch to unilaterally determine when to invoke the Act without judicial oversight would eliminate all constraints on presidential authority under this statute, undermining the courts’ role in interpreting the law.
The ruling marks the first time a court has declared the Alien Enemies Act cannot be applied in this context during peacetime and represents a significant setback to the Trump administration’s March 2025 proclamation, which claimed special powers to deport Venezuelan gang members without the usual immigration procedures.
While the injunction blocks the use of the Alien Enemies Act, it does not prevent the government from pursuing deportations under other immigration laws. The Venezuelan migrants involved remain in detention in South Texas as legal battles continue.
The Justice Department has yet to comment on the ruling. Legal experts hailed the decision as a critical affirmation that wartime powers cannot be stretched to justify expedited deportations in peacetime, reinforcing the importance of due process protections for migrants.
