US judge temporarily stops west Texas immigrant deportations under Alien Enemies Act [View all]

Source: msn/AP

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A federal judge in west Texas joined other courts in temporarily blocking the deportations of Venezuelan immigrants under an 18th-century wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act.

U.S. District Judge David Briones in El Paso, Texas, issued the ruling Friday while he ordered the release of a couple accused of being members of a Venezuelan criminal gang. Briones wrote that government lawyers “have not demonstrated they have any lawful basis" to continue detaining the couple on a suspected alien enemy violation. A message left with an attorney for the couple wasn’t immediately returned Saturday.

The couple is accused of being part of Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act from 1798 that lets the president deport noncitizens 14 years or older who are from a country with which the U.S. is at war.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under the act. The high court also ruled anyone being deported under Trump's declaration deserved a hearing in federal court first and are given “a reasonable time” to contest their pending removals.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/us-judge-temporarily-stops-west-texas-immigrant-deportations-under-alien-enemies-act/ar-AA1DFFfV