Alien Enemies No More
Judge strikes down administration’s use of Alien Enemies Act: A Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas ruled that the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport Venezuelans is unlawful, in a ruling that has big implications.
The decision by Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. “amounted to a philosophical rejection of the White House’s attempts to transpose the Alien Enemies Act, which was passed in 1798 as the nascent United States was threatened by war with France, into the context of modern-day immigration policy,” per The New York Times. Rodriguez argues that “the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation [which invokes the act and designates the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization] exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms.”
“The Proclamation makes no reference to and in no manner suggests that a threat exists of an organized, armed group of individuals entering the United States at the direction of Venezuela to conquer the country or assume control over a portion of the nation. Thus, the Proclamation’s language cannot be read as describing conduct that falls within the meaning of ‘invasion’ for purposes of the AEA,” writes Judge Rodriguez, so “[President Donald Trump’s] Proclamation exceeded the statutory boundaries that the AEA establishes.”
“The President cannot summarily declare that a foreign nation or government has threatened or perpetrated an invasion or predatory incursion of the United States, followed by the identification of the alien enemies subject to detention or removal,” adds Rodriguez. “This decision correctly recognized that the president cannot simply declare there’s an invasion and invoke a wartime authority during peacetime. As the court recognized, Congress never intended this law to be used in this manner,” said American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer Lee Gelernt in response to the ruling. (The ACLU has so far filed suit in Texas, New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Washington, and Georgia challenging the Trump administration’s use of the AEA.)
Rodriguez declined to rule on the factual matters asserted by Trump, such as the degree to which Tren de Aragua’s activities are controlled by the Venezuelan government.
Unless the decision is overturned when appealed, federal authorities will now be barred from deporting any Venezuelans in the Southern District of Texas via the Alien Enemies Act. It remains to be seen how other judges will rule, but this is a significant defeat for the Trump administration.
Anti-abundance agenda: “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know?,” said Trump yesterday at the end of a Cabinet meeting, attempting to combat worries about inflation clearing the shelves. “And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
Look, mass-produced plastic crap from Mattel and Fisher-Price is not my t
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