WASHINGTON (TNND) — On Thursday, a federal judge appointed by Donald Trump permanently blocked the Trump Administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans it has labeled as criminals, at least in his region of Texas.
The judge said:
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,” the judge wrote. He continued: “Allowing the President to unilaterally define the conditions when he may invoke the AEA, and then summarily declare that those conditions exist, would remove all limitations to the Executive Branch’s authority under the AEA, and would strip the courts of their traditional role of interpreting Congressional statutes to determine whether a government official has exceeded the statute’s scope. The law does not support such a position.”
It’s a decision that could impact his use of the 1798 wartime law in other cases, too.
One of the most closely watched cases involves Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who had been living in Maryland for years and was recently arrested and sent to a Supermax prison in El Salvador, despite having protected legal status.
The U.S. Supreme Court said the Trump Administration must facilitate his return and U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has set new deadlines for the federal government to provide more details and answer additional questions from Abrego Garcia’s lawyers by Monday, and depositions of certain government officials need to happen by next Friday, May 9.
As that deadline approaches, the Trump Administration remains steadfast in its insistence that it has no plans to return him to the United States.
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “He is an El Salvadoran national, that is his home country. That is where he belongs.”
The President appeared unaware that an image he shared on social media had been photoshopped.
In an interview with ABC News, Trump said, “He had MS-13 on his knuckles tattooed.”
Reporter Terry Moran said, “He had some tattoos that are interpreted that way, but let’s move on.”
“Wait a minute, Terry,” Trump interrupted. “It said MS-13.”
“That was photoshopped,” Moran said.
Still, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., came to the President’s defense at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, questioning Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator nominee Terrance Cole about the meaning of the tattoos Abrego Garcia has on his knuckles.
“What does that photo or those markings suggest to you?” Graham asked.
“Well, they suggest that he’s an MS-13 member, that those are his markings, that’s his brand,” Cole replied.
Meanwhile, calls for his release grow louder from Democrats, some of whom visited El Salvador, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., even meeting with him there.
On Thursday, some Senate Democrats announced they plan to force a vote demanding answers on the Trump Administration’s compliance with these court orders.
They are also calling for a report on El Salvador’s human rights recordsaying if the Administration fails to produce a report, security assistance to El Salvador would be prohibited by federal law.
“Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has rounded up tens of thousands of Salvadorans without due process and jammed them indefinitely into overpopulated torture centers. And now he’s trying to do the same to people living in the United States. President Trump is even threatening to send U.S. citizens to these same horrific megaprisons,” said Sen. Tim Kaine-D-Va. “This is a violation of the founding principles of the United States. That’s why I’m forcing a vote on legislation to require this Administration to explain its actions to the American public and shine a bright light on the Bukele regime’s human rights abuses, instead of celebrating them.”
At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security continues to reveal documents they said shed light on Abrego Garcia’s past.
They include a protective order filed against him by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, in 2021 that she never followed through on, in which she claimed Abrego Garcia hit her and left her with “a purple eye.”
In another one from 2020, she mentioned, “I also have a [recording] that [he] told my ex-mother-in-law that even if he kills me, no one can do anything to him.”
It’s unclear if any more Democrats will travel to El Salvador, but Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Thursday denied a report in The Bulwark that stated he wants fellow Democrats to put an end to trips to El Salvador to advocate for Abrego Garcia’s release.
Jeffries told reporters Thursday, “The only statement that was made to members who went to El Salvador was ‘Welcome back. We are glad you have returned safely.'”
Democrats have been hammering the President on the denial of due process for Abrego Garcia and so many others, and multiple polls just released indicate they may have increasing support.
They show that the majority of Americans no longer approve of President Trump’s immigration policy, once seen as his greatest strength.
One Economist/YouGov poll found 50% said he should return Abrego Garcia and just 28% said he should not.
