Venezuelan Deportations Temporarily Blocked by NY, Texas Judges

(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration’s bid to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members was temporarily blocked by judges in New York and Texas, in a pair of cases over the president’s use of a two-century old wartime law.

Federal judges in Brownsville, Texas, and Manhattan ruled Wednesday that the government can’t immediately deport men being held in detention facilities in their regions.

The two latest cases seek to build on a US Supreme Court decision this week. A majority of justices sided with the Trump administration in an earlier dispute, but also explicitly said that detainees facing removal under the Alien Enemies Act had to get notice and an opportunity to challenge their deportations before they’re flown out of the country.

In the New York case, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Wednesday he will issue an order barring deportations of men held under a March 15 proclamation by President Donald Trump declaring members of the Tren de Aragua gang part of an invasion force against the US. His ruling applies to detainees facing deportation under the act in New York area jails.

In Texas, US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez entered an order on Wednesday pausing the deportation of individuals held at a detention center in Raymondville. It wasn’t clear how many detainees the order would affect, but at a minimum applies to the three men who filed a challenge earlier in the day.

Both orders are set to expire later this month as the judges decide whether to impose longer-term halts on deportations.

The cases are G.F.F. v. Trump, 25-cv-2886, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan) and J.A.V. V. Trump, 25-cv-72, US District Court, Southern District of Texas (Brownsville)

–With assistance from Madlin Mekelburg.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com