A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled Tuesday that President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport immigrant gang members is legally permissible, but said the administration must alter how it notifies individuals facing removal under the order.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines, a Trump appointee, issued the decision, which breaks from two previous rulings by other federal judges who found Trump’s application of the 18th-century wartime statute unlawful.
The Trump administration has relied on the AEA—a law originally enacted in 1798—to facilitate the expedited removal of noncitizens, asserting that migrant gang members represent a “hybrid criminal state” mounting an invasion of the United States.
In her opinion, the judge found that the administration’s declarations provided a factual basis for the president’s conclusions and determined that the proclamation met the AEA’s standard for a “predatory incursion.” She noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent designation of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) as a foreign terrorist organization provided a basis for treating the group as part of a “predatory incursion” under the statute.
Haines further stated that she would give “substantial deference” to Trump’s determination that the gang operates “at the direction, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela.” She warned that it “would be intolerable” for courts to override executive actions taken on confidential intelligence.
Still, the judge ruled that current practices surrounding the deportation process under the AEA fall short of constitutional standards. She blocked the removal of a Venezuelan man identified in court as A.S.R.—currently in ICE custody—unless he receives at least 21 days’ notice and an opportunity to be heard. Haines said the notice must be delivered in both English and Spanish and clearly explain that he is being deported under the AEA.
