U.S. judges in Texas, New York block DOJ from removing plaintiffs in Alien Enemies Act deportation case

Federal judges in both New York and Texas have temporarily blocked the deportations of certain Venezuelan migrants facing removal under the Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, again stopping its attempts to remove alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang after the Supreme Court cleared the way for their deportations this week.

In Texas, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from removing those migrants subject to President Trump’s proclamation invoking the wartime law from a detention facility in Texas.

His order will remain in place through April 23, or until he issues a subsequent order. A hearing by videoconference has been scheduled to take place Friday.

And in New York, attorneys for two Venezuelan men who are currently being detained in Orange County, New York, successfully argued to block their clients’ deportations and movement outside of the state and the United States. In the case in New York, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton, temporarily blocked their deportations Tuesday.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

contributed to this report.