ACLU Files Another Lawsuit Against Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act

by | Apr 14, 2025

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed another lawsuit last week against the Trump administration over its use of the 1798 Aliens Enemy Act to deport illegal immigrants.

This is the ACLU’s third lawsuit against the administration regarding this issue. The first two were filed in New York and Texas, where judges sided with the left-wing organization.

A Texas judge blocked the deportation of Venezuelans who are allegedly gang members with Tren de Aragua (TdA). The order for this expires on April 23.

In New York, a judge stopped the deportation of two Venezuelans with alleged ties to TdA. The order lasts until April 22.

The ACLU, in its third lawsuit, argues that two Venezuelan illegals in Colorado being held with alleged TdA ties are at risk of removal.

When these alleged TdA gang members are being deported to El Salvador, they are being held in its Terrorism Confinement Center.

In March, President Donald Trump, in an executive order (EO), declared TdA a foreign terrorist organization. This EO also authorized the 1798 law to remove illegal Venezuelans tied to TDA to be removed from America immediately.

The Alien Enemies Act allows the president to deport and detain noncitizens in times of war from hostile countries.

However, despite this EO, the ACLU said the 1798 law has never been issued outside of war and only applies to warlike actions.

The left-wing non-profit argued it can’t be issued against people from a specific country, Venezuela, who America is not at war with.

ACLU said the federal government said it only needed 24 hours to be “sufficient notice” to deport these people.

“That suggestion not only defies the Supreme Court’s instructions but could mean that Petitioners may fail to get meaningful notice or opportunity to seek judicial review before being sent permanently to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, where they could spend the rest of their lives according to the Salvadoran President,” ACLU wrote.

The ACLU filed this lawsuit in a Colorado district court.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said 10 more suspected TdA members were sent to El Salvador.

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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com. Follow Zachery on Twitter @zacheryschmidt2.

 

 

   
This article may be republished only in its entirety and only with proper attribution to State News Foundation.

Written By Zachery Schmidt

Journalist

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