The judge also stated that the men, who were deported under the Alien Enemies Act, are likely to succeed in their claims that they were denied due process and expelled without an opportunity to challenge their removal
Judge James E. Boasberg compared the expelled men to characters in a Kafka novel.Credit…Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg
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Federal Judge Rebukes Trump Administration Over Wartime Deportations of Venezuelans
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered the Trump administration to take steps to restore due process rights to nearly 140 Venezuelan immigrants deported to El Salvador under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act. The deportations, which took place in March, sent the men—alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang—to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador without any opportunity to contest their removal.
In a sharply worded opinion, Judge James E. Boasberg compared the government’s actions to something out of a Kafka novel, arguing that the men were likely to prevail in their claims of having been denied basic legal rights. While he did not rule on the legality of invoking the Alien Enemies Act itself, Boasberg emphasized that the administration had failed to provide the deportees with hearings or a means to dispute their classification or deportation.
“Perhaps the president lawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act,” he wrote. “Perhaps, moreover, defendants are correct that plaintiffs are gang members. But— and this is the critical point—there is simply no way to know for sure, as the CECOT plaintiffs never had any opportunity to challenge the government’s say-so.”
The ruling is a rebuke of the Trump administration’s use of expansive executive power under wartime provisions and raises serious questions about due process and human rights in immigration enforcement.
