ACLU claims administration is restarting deportations under 18th century wartime law

AP The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday unsuccessfully petitioned two federal judges to order the Trump administration not to deport any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an th century wartime law contending that immigration personnel appeared to be moving to restart removals despite the U S Supreme Court s restrictions on how it can use the act Later in the day the ACLU filed exigency petitions with both the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U S Supreme Court itself to halt the deportations even as one of the judges disclosed it raised legitimate concerns but he could not issue an order The group has already sued to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of of two Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center and is asking a judge to issue an order barring removals of any immigrants in the region under the law In an urgency filing early Friday the ACLU warned that immigration administration were accusing other Venezuelan men held there of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang which would make them subject to President Donald Trump s use of the act The act has only been invoked three previous times in U S history bulk in recent weeks during World War II to hold Japanese-American civilians in internment camps The Trump administration contended it gave them power to swiftly remove immigrants they identified as members of the gang regardless of their immigration status The ACLU and the group Democracy Forward at once sued to halt deportations under the act The U S Supreme Court allowed deportations to resume but ruled unanimously they could proceed only if those about to be removed had a chance to argue their event in court and were given a reasonable time to contest their pending removals Federal judges in Colorado New York and southern Texas promptly issued orders barring removal of detainees under the AEA until the administration provides a process for them to make proposes in court But there s been no such order issued in the area of Texas that covers Bluebonnet which is located miles north of Abilene in the far northern end of the state District Judge James Wesley Hendrix a Trump appointee this week declined to bar the administration from removing the two men identified in the ACLU lawsuit because Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed sworn declarations that they would not be this instant deported He also balked at issuing a broader order prohibiting removal of all Venezuelans in the area under the act because he revealed removals hadn t started yet But the ACLU s Friday filing includes sworn declarations from three separate immigration lawyers who disclosed their clients in Bluebonnet were given paperwork indicating they were members of Tren de Aragua and could be deported by Saturday In one matter immigration lawyer Karene Brown noted her client identified by initials was explained to sign papers in English even though the client only spoke Spanish ICE informed F G M that these papers were coming from the President and that he will be deported even if he did not sign it Brown wrote ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt reported in a Friday evening hearing before District Judge James E Boasberg in Washington D C that the administration initially moved Venezuelans to its south Texas immigration facility for deportation But since a judge banned deportations in that area it has funneled them to the Bluebonnet facility where no such order exists He commented spectators announced the men were being loaded on buses Friday evening to be taken to the airport With Hendrix not agreeing to the ACLU s request for an crisis order the group turned to Boasberg who initially halted deportations in March The Supreme Court ruled the orders against deportation could only come from judges in jurisdictions where immigrants were held which Boasberg stated made him powerless Friday I m sympathetic to everything you re saying Boasberg advised Gelernt I just don t think I have the power to do anything about it Boasberg this week identified there s probable cause that the Trump administration committed criminal contempt by disobeying his initial deportation ban He was concerned that the paper that ICE was giving those held did not make clear they had a right to challenge their removal in court which he inferred the Supreme Court mandated Drew Ensign an attorney for the Justice Department disagreed saying that people slated for deportation would have a minimum of hours to challenge their removal in court He revealed no flights were scheduled for Friday night and he was unaware of any Saturday but the Department of Homeland Measure noted it reserved the right to remove people then ICE announced it would not comment on the litigation Also Friday a Massachusetts judge made permanent his temporary ban on the administration deporting immigrants who have exhausted their appeals to countries other than their home countries unless they are informed of their destination and given a chance to object if they d face torture or death there Several countries like Venezuela do not accept deportations from the United States which has led the Trump administration to strike agreements with other countries like Panama to house them Venezuelans subject to Trump s Alien Enemies Act have been sent to El Salvador and housed in its notorious main prison