Judge Maintains Blocks on Trump Admin’s Use of Alien Enemies Act for Deportations

The administration had moved to vacate the temporary restraining orders.

Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Tren de Aragua terrorist group recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained on March 16, 2025. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Reuters

A federal judge in Washington has denied the Trump administration’s request to remove two orders blocking the administration’s ability to deport members of a Venezuelan gang under the Alien Enemies Act.

In an opinion on March 24, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said he has jurisdiction to adjudicate the issue and that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their argument that they are entitled to an individualized hearing to determine whether the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 applies to them.