A legal tug-of-war is underway in Washington, where a U.S. appeals court has temporarily blocked a lower court’s ruling that could open the courtroom doors for hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador. These individuals were expelled under a centuries-old wartime statute last invoked by the Trump administration.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued the pause — an administrative stay — as it weighs the Biden administration’s challenge to the decision. The move gives the three-judge panel, composed entirely of Trump-era appointees, breathing room to consider whether the migrants should be allowed to file habeas corpus petitions contesting their detention and removal.
At the heart of the legal drama is a June 4 order from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who ruled that the deported Venezuelans deserve a shot at challenging their removal. Though Boasberg didn’t demand the government physically return the migrants — many of whom are locked in a massive detention facility in El Salvador — he did direct officials to lay out within a week how these individuals could meaningfully assert their legal rights from afar.
The Trump administration had dusted off the 1798 Alien Enemies Act — a relic of America’s early fears of foreign threat — to justify fast-track deportations of Venezuelans it alleged were tied to the Tren de Aragua, a criminal syndicate based in Latin America. The migrants were removed in March, bypassing the normal immigration process entirely.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the deported Venezuelans, has yet to weigh in on the appeals court’s latest move.
For now, the legal limbo continues. What happens next will determine not just the fate of these migrants, but how far the U.S. government can go when invoking antiquated laws in the name of modern security.
