The Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged illegal alien gang bangers has again been blocked by district judges, despite the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling on the matter.
The first judge, New York U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, issued a temporary order Wednesday requiring the administration to hold hearings before deporting alleged illegal alien gang bangers to a hardcore prison in El Salvador where nobody has ever been released from custody.
“Hellerstein expressed concern for the [illegal aliens’] welfare if they were expelled without a chance to rebut the government’s claims [regarding their gang activity],” according to the Washington Post.
“Given the history, it seems to me people need to be protected, people need to be given notice before they can be removed,” Hellerstein said.
Hellerstein is the same judge who last year denied then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s request to move his New York case to the Southern District of New York:
Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein has denied President Trump’s request to move his New York case to the Southern District of New York (federal court).
In an opinion today, he said that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear arguments about the propriety of Judge Merchan’s trial and… pic.twitter.com/qtFYSPrOxV
— Sam Dorman (@EpochofDorman) September 3, 2024
Lawyers for the plaintiffs, two Venezuelan nationals, also asked Hellerstein to declare the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act unconstitutional, but he declined, saying that matter would be addressed “another day.”
Meanwhile in Texas, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump nominee, issued a temporary order Wednesday specifically blocking the administration from deporting three Venezuelan nationals, in addition to everybody else locked up with them at the El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville.
“The judge scheduled a hearing in the case for Friday to consider extending the order, which expires on April 23, or issuing other forms of relief,” according to the Post.
Like Hellerstein, Rodriguez also expressed concern about potentially innocent men being deported to a prison in El Salvador.
“Rodriguez wrote in his decision that he temporarily blocked the removals because the U.S. government would probably try to deport immigrants without a hearing if he did not intervene,” according to the Post. “And he noted that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to return them to the United States if the government made a mistake.”
“He cited the case of Kilmar Abrego García, a Maryland man who the government has admitted to deporting in error,” the Post’s reporting continues.
The wife of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador in error, denies the government’s claim that her husband is a member of MS-13. pic.twitter.com/LTxnQuOVqV
— World Latin Honey (@WorldLatinHoney) April 10, 2025
All this comes days after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday to lift a lower court’s order forbidding the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal aliens to El Salvador.
Trump was pleased by the decision.
“The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders, and protect our families and our Country, itself,” he wrote on Truth Social. “A GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA.”
The only catch is that the Supreme Court added a stipulation requiring the Trump administration to grant alleged illegal alien gang bangers the opportunity to prove their innocence prior to their deportation.
“AEA detainees must receive notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act,” their ruling reads. “The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs,” the court wrote in its unsigned majority opinion.”
The ACLU, one of the key groups representing Venezuelan nationals, was also pleased by the decision.
“This ruling means we will need to start the court process over again in a different venue, but the critical point is that the Supreme Court said individuals must be given due process to challenge their removal under the Alien Enemies Act,” ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told Reuters. “That is a huge victory.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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