President Trump lashed out at judges early Saturday after a recent court ruling barred his administration from continuing to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.
“Can it be so that Judges aren’t allowing the USA to Deport Criminals, including Murderers, out of our Country and back to where they came from?” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“If this is so, our Country, as we know it, is finished! Americans will have to get used to a very different, crime filled, LIFE,” he continued. post on Truth Social. “This is not what our Founders had in mind!!!”
The president’s criticism comes less than two days after U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., an appointee of Trump, ruled that the AEA does not allow the commander-in-chief to quickly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to a jail in El Salvador, extending an existing block.
Rodriguez Jr. said in his ruling Thursday that the 18th century law can only be utilized when an “organized, armed force” is coming into the U.S., therefore rejecting the administration’s assertion that the law can be used against alleged members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.
“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,” the judge wrote in a 36-page ruling.
“Thus, the Proclamation’s language cannot be read as describing conduct that falls within the meaning of ‘invasion’ for purposes of the AEA,” he added.
With just over 100 days since Trump returned to the White House, the administration’s reliance on AEA has been key the crackdown on illegal immigration. Earlier in the year, over 100 men were deported to a high-security prison in El Salvador, alleging that their tattoos were evidence of their gang affiliation.
The move has sparked heavy backlash, primarily from Democrats, as many argue the deportations were done without due process.
Also on Thursday, the administration asked the Supreme Court to do away with deportation protections, also known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), for more than 600,000 Venezuelans, looking to lift a separate federal district judge’s decision to pause the push as the litigation continues.
