In a striking legal twist that leans on a dusty statute from the 18th century, a federal judge in Pennsylvania has backed the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act—a rarely invoked wartime law—to deport accused gang members from Venezuela, marking the first known judicial endorsement of this controversial maneuver.
The ruling came from U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines, who said former President Donald Trump had the legal authority to brand the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as a foreign threat and expel its alleged members under the 1798 law. But she didn’t offer a free pass: the judge criticized the administration’s practice of whisking migrants out of the country “within a matter of hours,” saying such speed risks mistakenly deporting individuals who may have no gang ties at all.
To prevent such misfires, Haines ordered that deportees be given at least 21 days’ notice and a fair chance to contest their removal. Those notices must be in both Spanish and English, and interpreters must be available when necessary. Her ruling came in the case of a Venezuelan man identified only as A.S.R.—whose actual gang affiliation remains undetermined by the court.
The Trump administration had moved A.S.R. out of Pennsylvania to a Texas ICE facility on April 15, despite a standing court order to keep him in place. The judge emphasized her court retained jurisdiction over his case regardless of that move, effectively rebuking the administration for skirting judicial oversight.
Trump began invoking the Alien Enemies Act in March as justification to deport hundreds of Venezuelan men accused of gang affiliation. The law, dating back to the John Adams era, was originally designed for wartime use—giving the president sweeping authority to detain or deport nationals of hostile nations. That Trump is now using it in peacetime has alarmed civil liberties groups.
Lee Gelernt, attorney for A.S.R. and a lead figure at the American Civil Liberties Union, vowed to challenge the ruling.
“We strongly disagree with the Court’s decision to allow the government to continue using this wartime authority during peacetime, and will appeal,” Gelernt said.
So far, judges in New York, Colorado, and Texas have ruled against Trump’s deployment of the Alien Enemies Act. Haines’ ruling, now the lone outlier, potentially tees up a high-stakes legal showdown in higher courts.
Meanwhile, deportations have already begun under Trump’s plan. Alleged gang members have been sent to a prison in El Salvador, part of a U.S.-funded $6 million arrangement with the Central American country. Critics view this as an extension of Trump’s long-standing hardline immigration agenda, reawakened ahead of a potential White House comeback.
The White House offered no comment on the ruling. The legal storm, however, is just beginning to gather.
