The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) unsuccessfully requested two federal judges to prevent the U.S. government, under President Donald Trump, from deporting any Venezuelan detainees in North Texas under an 18th-century wartime law. The ACLU argued that immigration authorities seemed to be resuming deportations despite federal Supreme Court restrictions on the law’s application.
Subsequently, the ACLU filed emergency appeals with both the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and the federal Supreme Court to halt these deportations. Although one judge acknowledged the concerns brought forth, he indicated he could not issue an order.
The ACLU has initiated lawsuits to block deportations of two Venezuelans held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. They are also seeking a court order to prohibit the deportation of any immigrant in the region under this law. The ACLU’s emergency filing warned that immigration authorities were accusing other detained Venezuelans of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang, making them susceptible to deportation under the law.
This particular law has only been invoked three times in U.S. history, most recently during World War II to intern Japanese American civilians. The Trump administration argued that it allowed for the swift removal of immigrants identified as gang members, regardless of their immigration status. Both the ACLU and the Democracy Forward group have filed lawsuits to suspend deportations under the act.
The federal Supreme Court permitted deportations to resume, but unanimously ruled that they could only proceed if those facing removal were given a chance to argue their case in court and provided “reasonable time” to contest their pending deportations. Federal judges in Colorado, New York, and Southern Texas quickly issued orders halting deportations under the law until the government offered a process for detainees to present their claims in court. However, no such order has been issued in the Texas region covering Bluebonnet, located 24 miles north of Abilene.
District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, appointed by Trump, denied a request to stop the removal of two men identified in the ACLU’s lawsuit, citing affidavits from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that the deportations were not imminent. He also refused to issue a broader order prohibiting the removal of all Venezuelans in the area under the law, as deportations had not yet commenced.
The ACLU’s Friday request included affidavits from three separate immigration lawyers confirming their clients at Bluebonnet received documentation indicating they were gang members and could be deported by Saturday. One lawyer, Karene Brown, claimed her client was instructed to sign English documents, despite only speaking Spanish.
During a Friday night hearing in Washington D.C., ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt stated that the government initially transferred Venezuelans to a South Texas immigration facility for deportation. Due to a judicial order halting deportations in that area, they were moved to Bluebonnet, where no such order exists. Witnesses reported that the men were being loaded onto buses Friday night for transport to the airport.
After Judge Hendrix declined the ACLU’s emergency request, the group turned to Judge James E. Boasberg, who had previously suspended deportations in March. The Supreme Court ruled that deportations could only be blocked by judges in jurisdictions where immigrants were detained, which Boasberg noted left him powerless to intervene on Friday.
This week, Boasberg determined there was probable cause to suggest the Trump administration committed criminal contempt by defying his initial deportation ban. He expressed concern that the document ICE provided to detainees failed to clarify their right to contest deportation in court, as mandated by the Supreme Court.
Drew Ensign, a Department of Justice attorney, disagreed, asserting that scheduled deportees would have a minimum of 24 hours to challenge their expulsion in court. He added that no flights were scheduled for Friday night and none were anticipated for Saturday, though the Department of Homeland Security reserved the right to carry out deportations. ICE stated it would not comment on ongoing litigation.
Additionally, a Massachusetts judge permanently extended a temporary ban preventing the government from deporting immigrants, who have exhausted their appeals, to countries other than their own without notifying them of their destination and allowing them to object if they might face torture or death.
Some countries, like Venezuela, refuse deportations from the United States, prompting the Trump administration to forge agreements with other nations, such as Panama, to house these individuals. Venezuelans affected by the Alien Enemies Act have been sent to El Salvador and detained in its principal prison.
