NEW YORK: A US judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from using an 18th-century wartime law to deport some Venezuelan migrants.

US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez in Brownsville, Texas, ruled that the Trump administration exceeded the scope of the Alien Enemies Act by using it to speed up the deportations of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

The judge’s permanent injunction against the use of the law applies to migrants detained in the Southern District of Texas.

Trump’s mid-March proclamation invoking the 1798 law said the actions of Tren de Aragua members in the US amounted to an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” and therefore justified the use of the law for rapid deportations.

Rodriguez, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, said the gang’s actions failed to meet that bar.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2025