Texas judge bars US government from deporting three Venezuelans under Alien Enemies Act

By VALERIE GONZALEZ

McALLEN (AP) — A judge in Texas temporarily barred the U.S. government Wednesday from deporting three Venezuelan men under a rarely-invoked law that gives the president the power to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war.

All three men were identified as belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim the legal defense disputes.

The three plaintiffs are being detained in a facility in Texas and face possible deportation, including a man who is HIV positive and fears lacking access to medical care if deported.

The men were identified as gang members by physical attributes using the “Alien Enemy Validation Guide,” in which an ICE agent tallies points by relying on tattoos, hand gestures, symbols, logos, graffiti, and manner of dress, according to the ACLU. Experts who study the gang have told the ACLU the method is not reliable.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

McALLEN (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas filed a class action civil lawsuit in Brownsville federal court Tuesday in defense of three Venezuelans who are at risk of removal from the U.S. under a rarely-invoked law that gives the president the power to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war.

All three men were identified as belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim the legal defense disputes.

The three plaintiffs are being detained in a facility in Texas and face possible deportation, including a man who is HIV positive and fears lacking access to medical care if deported.

The men were identified as gang members by physical attributes using the “Alien Enemy Validation Guide,” in which an ICE agent tallies points by relying on tattoos, hand gestures, symbols, logos, graffiti, and manner of dress, according to the ACLU. Experts who study the gang have told the ACLU the method is not reliable.

The lawsuit affects others who are detained and face similar deportation. The ACLU is requesting a temporary restraining order to keep their petitioners in the U.S. and for the judge to declare the 18-century Alien Enemies Act, which the Trump administration is invoking, unlawful.

Meanwhile, a hearing was underway Tuesday morning in New York regarding two other Venezuelan men who also face deportation under the Alien Enemies Act. Civil liberties groups have sued the government on behalf of the two men, one 21 the other 32, who are being held by immigration authorities at a jail about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of New York City.

The Alien Enemies Act has only been used three times in the past, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II, when it was used to justify the mass internment of people of Japanese heritage while the U.S. was at war with Japan.

The United States is not at war with Venezuela, but President Donald Trump’s administration has argued the U.S. is being invaded by members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. immigration authorities already have deported more than 100 people and sent them to a notorious prison in El Salvador without letting them challenge their removals in court.

On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to use the wartime law to deport Venezuelans accused of being gang members, but it also ruled the administration must give Venezuelans the chance to legally fight any deportation orders.

The ruling did not address the constitutionality of the act. The ACLU is asking the judge in Texas to decide on whether it is lawful to use the Alien Enemies Act.

The administration plans to expand its use for members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13, Todd Lyons, acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, told reporters Tuesday during Border Security Expo, a trade show in Phoenix.

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