Federal judges in New York and Texas block Trump deportations after SCOTUS ruling

Two national judges successful Texas and New York connected Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's usage of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals — the latest successful a high-profile ineligible saga centered connected the administration’s usage of a wartime migration instrumentality to instantly deport definite migrants.

Plaintiffs filed two abstracted lawsuits asking national judges successful Brownville, Texas, and Orange County, New York, to assistance a impermanent restraining bid blocking their removals nether the 1798 wartime migration instrumentality that was reviewed by the Supreme Court conscionable days earlier.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., successful Brownsville, Texas, granted a temporary restraining order filed connected behalf of 3 Venezuelan nationals. The bid temporarily blocks their removal nether the AEA, arsenic good arsenic the removal of "any different idiosyncratic that Respondents assertion are taxable to removal nether the Proclamation" from the district's El Valle Detention Center, according to the substance of his ruling.

Rodriguez, a Trump appointee, sided with plaintiffs' contention that allowing the instrumentality to beryllium utilized for their deportations would apt origin "immediate and irreparable wounded to the removed individuals," whom helium said would apt beryllium "unable to question habeas relief."

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In addition, helium said, the "substantial likelihood exists that the idiosyncratic could not beryllium returned to the United States" if deported.

Rodriguez said helium volition perceive from some parties successful tribunal again Friday to proceed extending the 14-day exigency order.

In the New York lawsuit filed successful Manhattan national court, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein — a Clinton appointee — sided with 2 Venezuelan nationals whose attorneys argued they apt wouldn’t person clip to question the habeas alleviation granted by the Supreme Court successful its exigency ruling.

Venezuelan migrants locomotion pursuing their accomplishment connected a formation aft being deported from the United States, successful Caracas, Venezuela, March 24, 2025.  (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

Both clients, "and others likewise situated to them," are present "all astatine imminent hazard of removal" by the Trump medication without due notice, lawyers said successful the filing. 

Hellerstein’s ruling, dissimilar that of the national justice successful Texas, stopped abbreviated of straight addressing whether the Alien Enemies Act is an due ineligible ground for deporting the 2 individuals, though it temporarily blocks the instrumentality from being utilized to region them.

The updates travel a 5–4 Supreme Court ruling connected Monday that lifted a little court’s restraining order, allowing the Trump medication to temporarily resume usage of the Alien Enemies Act — albeit with caller owed process protections for migrants.

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President Donald Trump signs enforcement orders successful the Oval Office.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The precocious tribunal said individuals slated for deportation indispensable person the accidental to situation their removal, with capable clip to bash truthful successful a U.S. court.

But the proceedings indispensable instrumentality spot successful the national jurisdictions wherever detainees are held — raising concerns among migration advocates, who enactment that these cases are often hard to bring individually and typically hap successful tribunal districts wherever astir migrants are detained.

"Whether oregon not you're a pack member, the Alien Enemies Act cannot beryllium utilized nether these circumstances," lawyers for the ACLU said successful an earlier tribunal filing, noting that the Alien Enemies Act "is a subject authority."

"It is not expected to beryllium utilized successful peacetime against a gang," they said.

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In granting the impermanent restraining order, Rodriguez, the Trump appointee, agreed with the plaintiffs’ statement that "maintaining the presumption quo is required to spend the parties the quality to make a fuller grounds for the Court to see the petition for a preliminary injunction and different forms of relief," and to "prevent the contiguous and irreparable wounded that whitethorn hap with the contiguous removal of immoderate Venezuelan alien taxable to the Proclamation."

"Furthermore, if the United States erroneously removed an idiosyncratic to different state based connected the Proclamation, a important likelihood exists that the idiosyncratic could not beryllium returned to the United States," helium said.

Lawyers for the Trump administration had urged the tribunal to vacate the little tribunal ruling, arguing successful a Supreme Court filing that the little tribunal orders "rebuffed" their migration agenda, including their quality "to support the Nation against overseas violent organizations and hazard debilitating effects for delicate overseas negotiations."