PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA).
👥 Who’s Involved: The ACLU, the Trump administration, two Venezuelan migrants, and the Supreme Court.
📍 Where & When: The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in New York after a related Supreme Court decision on Monday.
💬 Key Quote: “The AEA has only ever been a power invoked in time of war… It cannot be used here against nationals of a country—Venezuela—with whom the United States is not at war,” the ACLU claims.
⚠️ Impact: The lawsuit challenges the use of presidential powers to deport designated “alien enemies,” potentially affecting over 130 illegals already removed from the U.S.
IN FULL:
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) initiated a new lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, seeking to halt the deportation of two Venezuelan migrants under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. Filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the litigation follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Monday that lifted a restraining order issued by Judge James Boasberg that prevented President Donald J. Trump from using the act to remove members of Tren de Aragua from the country. In addition, the Supreme Court determined that future challenges to deportation under the act must be filed with the lower court in the jurisdiction in which the migrant was detained.
In the filing, which asks U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein to block the deportation of two Venezuelan illegal immigrants, the ACLU argues that the Alien Enemies Act has historically only been deployed during wartime and not against foreign nationals from countries with which the United States is at peace. “The AEA has only ever been a power invoked in time of war, and plainly only applies to warlike actions: it cannot be used here against nationals of a country—Venezuela—with whom the United States is not at war, which is not invading the United States, and which has not launched a predatory incursion into the United States,” the filing contends.
Additionally, the ACLU accuses the Trump administration of violating the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling, which requires federal officials to provide those detained under the Alien Enemies Act with notice before they are deported. “Respondents seek to move Petitioners in secret, without due process, to a prison in El Salvador known for dire conditions, torture, and other forms of physical abuse—possibly for life,” the filing states, adding: “This has already borne out for over 130 individuals on March 15 who have lost all contact with their attorneys, family, and the world.”
The Trump White House has utilized the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the expulsion of illegal immigrants shown to be affiliated with violent criminal organizations and gangs like Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and El Salvador’s MS-13. Those detained and deported under the law are sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
Previously, Judge Hellerstein—presiding over the case—twice rejected President Trump’s attempts last year to move Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s so-called hush money prosecution against him to federal court.
