ACLU Fights Trump Deportation of Venezuelans in Texas \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The ACLU asked federal judges to stop deportations of Venezuelan immigrants held in Texas under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The Trump administration is accused of sidestepping court orders by transferring detainees to jurisdictions without deportation bans. Judges acknowledged concerns but ruled they lacked authority to intervene.
Quick Looks
- The ACLU asked federal judges Friday to stop Venezuelan deportations under the Alien Enemies Act
- The Trump administration is accused of reviving the 1798 law to justify expedited removals
- Detainees in Texas were allegedly told deportations were imminent and orders came from the president
- ACLU and Democracy Forward say transfers to northern Texas skirt existing court restrictions
- The Supreme Court ruled deportations must allow due process and “reasonable time” to respond
- Judges in Texas and D.C. said they lacked jurisdiction to block removals at Bluebonnet facility
- Attorneys submitted sworn declarations stating clients received deportation notices without proper explanation
- ICE has not commented; DOJ insists detainees have at least 24 hours to respond
- The Trump administration has struck deals to deport Venezuelans to third countries like Panama and El Salvador
- Deportations to Venezuela are complicated by diplomatic breakdowns and human rights concerns
Deep Look
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed emergency legal motions on Friday in a last-ditch effort to block the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants held in northern Texas, warning that the Trump administration is using an 18th-century wartime law in ways that violate both legal precedent and Supreme Court guidance.
At the center of the controversy is the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law rarely used in U.S. history and most infamously invoked to detain Japanese Americans during World War II. Now, under President Donald Trump’s second administration, it’s being used to justify the rapid removal of Venezuelan detainees, accused — in some cases without charge — of gang affiliation.
ACLU Files Emergency Requests with Two Courts
The ACLU initially sought emergency orders from two federal district judges — in Texas and Washington, D.C. — to stop the deportations. When those efforts failed, the group quickly filed petitions with both the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping to halt removals before detainees could be expelled over the weekend.
“ICE is actively preparing to deport our clients in violation of Supreme Court precedent,” said Lee Gelernt, lead ACLU attorney.
The organization already has a lawsuit pending to block deportations of two Venezuelan men held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center, located near Abilene, Texas. In that case, the ACLU is also seeking a broader injunction to prevent the removal of any detainees under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) in that region.
Judges Express Concern — But Say They Lack Authority
U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, a Trump appointee, declined on Friday to issue an emergency order, stating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had filed sworn declarations claiming the two named plaintiffs were not facing immediate deportation.
Because ICE had not yet initiated removals, Hendrix said he could not preemptively halt them. He also refused to issue a broader order protecting all Venezuelans held in Bluebonnet from deportation under the AEA.
Later Friday, Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, D.C., who previously issued a temporary ban on deportations, said he too could not intervene — because the Supreme Court had ruled that only judges in the jurisdiction where the detainees are held may issue such orders.
“I’m sympathetic to everything you’re saying,” Boasberg told the ACLU’s Gelernt. “I just don’t think I have the power to do anything about it.”
Sworn Declarations Reveal Deportation Imminent
The ACLU’s filings included sworn declarations from three immigration attorneys who reported that their clients were handed deportation paperwork at Bluebonnet, identifying them as alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-based gang.
Attorney Karene Brown said one client, referred to by initials F.G.M., was told to sign deportation papers in English, though he only speaks Spanish.
“ICE informed F.G.M. that these papers were coming from the President,” Brown wrote, “and that he will be deported even if he did not sign it.”
These declarations suggest that ICE may be moving forward with deportations in defiance of federal court instructions and without allowing detainees sufficient time or clarity to challenge their removal — a point the Supreme Court previously emphasized in a unanimous ruling.
Supreme Court’s Narrow Path for Deportation Under AEA
In an earlier ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed deportations under the Alien Enemies Act to continue only if detainees were granted due process — specifically, the ability to argue their case in court and “a reasonable time” to challenge removal.
Following that ruling, judges in Colorado, New York, and southern Texas issued orders suspending deportations until the administration provided a clear legal process for detainees to assert their rights. But no such order currently applies to the Bluebonnet facility, and the ACLU argues that ICE is taking advantage of that jurisdictional gap.
“They’re moving people to Bluebonnet to avoid the orders,” Gelernt said during Friday’s hearing.
Trump’s Strategy and ICE’s Silence
The Trump administration has defended its interpretation of the Alien Enemies Act, saying the law grants broad executive authority during wartime or national security threats to deport individuals deemed dangerous — even without standard immigration procedures.
Drew Ensign, an attorney for the Department of Justice, argued Friday that the government is complying with the Supreme Court’s guidance by giving detainees at least 24 hours to challenge their removal. He said no flights were scheduled Friday night and denied awareness of any planned for Saturday, though DHS said it reserves the right to act then.
ICE declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Deportation to Third Countries
Due to the U.S. not maintaining formal diplomatic relations with Venezuela, deporting individuals there is often impossible. As a workaround, the Trump administration has struck agreements with third countries like Panama and El Salvador to house Venezuelan deportees.
The ACLU has raised concerns over this practice, noting that some detainees have been sent to El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison, where human rights groups report overcrowding and abusive conditions.
Broader Legal Implications
Friday’s legal scramble underscores how the revival of the Alien Enemies Act has triggered a new wave of litigation and debate around executive overreach, immigration due process, and the treatment of non-citizens during times of political tension.
In a related case, a Massachusetts federal judge on Friday made permanent a ruling barring the government from deporting any immigrant to a third country without notifying them of the destination and giving them a chance to object if they fear torture or death there.
For now, unless higher courts intervene, Venezuelan detainees at Bluebonnet — and potentially elsewhere — remain vulnerable to rapid deportation without the procedural safeguards courts have demanded.
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