Trump from the judge after the use of 1798 Deportation Act – DW – 16.03.2025

A US federal judge intervened on Saturday to stop deportations after President Donald Trump called a law from the 18th century to exclude Venezolans from the country.

From 1798 Trump appealed to the extraterrestrial enemy law – a comprehensive war power that gives the President a greater freedom to enact mass deportations – in response to the gang known as Tren de Aragua.

The White House claimed that Tren de Aragua was associated with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump claimed that the gang had “led irregular warfare against the United States territory both directly and on the line, secretly or in other ways, the Maduro regime.”

However, critics warned that it was unprecedented for a president to use the Alien Enemies Act like this.

“It would be an astonishing abuse to appoint it during peace to avoid conventional immigration law,” wrote the Brennan Center for Justice.

It was said that Trump's decision was “in contradiction to the centuries of the legislative, the president and judicial practice”.

The judge stops the deportations that are negotiated until the procedure

Trump's deportation command, which was actually signed on Friday evening, gave the authorities the authorities that all Venezolans identified as members of Tren de Aragua are in custody and who are from the age of 14 and are not naturalized or lawful constant residents.

The order enabled the authorities to avoid the regular immigration procedure and to eliminate legal protection for those. Trump announced the move on Saturday.

Hours later, however, it was questioned in a lawsuit from the right groups that made the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and democracy forward.

The ACLU found that the law had only been called three times: most recently for the internment of the Japanese-American civilians during the Second World War and during the First World and War of 1812.

It was also argued that Trump had no authority to use it against a criminal gang instead of a state.

The US district judge James E. Boasberg decided that the ACLU had an appropriate chance of success in these arguments and had stopped the deportations for people who have been in custody for up to 14 days.

The judge planned a hearing in the case on Friday.

Published by: Sean Sinico