A new hearing is set for Friday, during which the deportations carried out under the Alien Enemies Act will remain on hold.
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump on Saturday from using the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected Venezuelan gang members without a hearing, ordering any flights transporting the alleged criminals to be turned back.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to suspend all deportations after the president approved a directive invoking the 1798 law, which was intended to target the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, The reported. The chief judge in the District of Columbia said he heard that “flights are actively departing” and ordered U.S. officials to ensure that any planes already in the air carrying migrants return to the US.
Roadblock for Trump
“Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States however that is accomplished”, Boasberg reportedly wrote. “Make sure it’s complied with immediately.”
The temporary ruling imposes a 14-day restraining order on the use of the wartime act, which the Trump administration aims to use for deporting migrants identified as gang members without going through standard criminal and immigration procedures.
