The Trump administration was using an 18th century wartime law to legally justify the deportations of hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador.
Topline
A federal judge Thursday blocked the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelans using an 18th century law that has been used just three other times in U.S. history, issuing the first permanent injunction against the administration’s use of the law and creating further uncertainty over how the government will respond.Key Facts
District Court Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. said in a filing the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 cannot be used against people the Trump administration alleges are gang members.
Rodriguez’s ruling, which argues the Trump administration is not using the law properly, is the first permanent injunction barring the deportations of Venezuelans from South Texas.
The ruling differs from Washington, D.C., District Court Judge James Boasberg’s temporary ruling against the deportations last month that was later overturned by the Supreme Court, which said Boasberg did not have authority to rule on the matter because the deportations took place in Texas, where Rodriguez is based.
It is unclear if the Trump administration, which has sparred with multiple courts in defending the deportations, will follow Thursday’s ruling or ignore it.
The government could take the case to an appeals court or ultimately the Supreme Court, which partially ruled in Trump’s favor when it shot down Boasberg’s temporary injunction against the deportations.
