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In a major rebuke to the Trump administration’s hardline immigration tactics, a federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump ruled Thursday that the administration cannot use the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans allegedly linked to the criminal group Tren de Aragua.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., presiding in the Southern District of Texas, issued a 36-page opinion stating that while the government has broad authority to remove immigrants involved in criminal activity under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act—a statute dating back to 1798—overstepped legal bounds.
“The historical record renders clear that the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms,” Rodriguez wrote.
In March, former President Trump issued a proclamation declaring Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan-based transnational gang, a terrorist organization and framed their presence in the U.S. as an “invasion or predatory incursion.” This language, the administration argued, justified the use of the Alien Enemies Act—a law historically invoked only during wartime, such as World War I and II.
However, Rodriguez pushed back against that interpretation. He emphasized that the statute’s original intent was to apply to “an organized, armed force entering the United States to engage in conduct destructive of property and human life in a specific geographical area,” and found no precedent for applying it in peacetime to civilian criminal activity.
The Supreme Court had previously paused deportations under the proclamation while Venezuelan detainees were en route to deportation facilities. According to family members and legal representatives, some were told they were being sent to El Salvador, while others were allegedly headed back to Venezuela.
Rodriguez’s ruling also granted the plaintiffs’ petition for class certification, recognizing the unique legal issues at stake for all Venezuelans in the region. “The special circumstances of this case,” he wrote, justified treating the suit as a class action, as the group shared key legal questions.
In his final judgment, Rodriguez permanently barred the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport, transfer, or remove the plaintiffs or any class members. However, he made clear that the administration may still pursue removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“This is the first time a federal court has ruled on whether a president can invoke the Alien Enemies Act during peacetime,” said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, who led the lawsuit. “The Court correctly held that the President lacks authority to simply declare there’s been an invasion of the United States and then invoke an 18th-century wartime authority during peacetime. Congress never meant for this law to be used in this manner.”
The ruling is a significant legal setback for Trump’s efforts to expand executive immigration authority through antiquated laws. It also places a legal barrier around the administration’s broader strategy of labeling criminal activity by non-state actors as a form of invasion.
The Department of Justice has not yet indicated whether it will appeal the decision.
