By Luc Cohen, Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Venezuelan migrants targeted by the Trump administration for deportation under a little-used 18th-century law must be allowed to challenge the decision to remove them, a judge ruled on Monday in rejecting the government’s request to set aside a temporary ban on such deportations.
Republican President Donald Trump earlier this month invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify the deportation of alleged members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua without final removal orders from immigration judges.
In an order on Monday, Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said the people the Trump administration is seeking to deport under the law must be given the chance to challenge the government’s assertion that they are indeed members of Tren de Aragua.
The judge also rejected the Trump administration’s request to set aside a two-week ban on deportations under the Alien Enemies Act he imposed on March 15, meaning the ban remains in place.
The ban prompted Trump to call for Boasberg impeachment in a process that could lead to his removal. In response, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement rebuking Trump and stating that appeals, not impeachment, are the proper response to disagreements with judicial decisions.
Boasberg is also weighing whether the Trump administration violated his order by failing to return deportation flights that landed in El Salvador, where the migrants are being held, after his order was issued.
Separately, a federal appeals court is due to hear arguments on Monday at 1:30 p.m. from government lawyers seeking to halt Boasberg’s order.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and Ted Hesson in Washington, Editing by Franklin Paul)
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