DENVER (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked deportations of immigrants in Colorado who face possible removal under President Donald Trump’s invocation of an 18th century law known as the Alien Enemies Act.
District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney issued the emergency order Monday night after the American Civil Liberties Union requested it on behalf of two Venezuelan men being held in Denver who feared they would be falsely accused of belonging to the gang Tren de Aragua. Trump has contended the gang is invading the United States, but his critics have said he's using the gang as the pretext for an overhyped anti-migrant narrative.
Sweeney’s order temporarily bars removal of all noncitizens who are currently in custody in the District of Colorado and who may be subject to removal under the Alien Enemies Act, which Trump invoked last month. The act has been used only three other times in American history, most recently to intern Japanese-American citizens during World War II.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that anyone being deported under the declaration deserved a hearing in federal court first.
That led federal judges in New York and Texas to place temporary holds on deportations in those areas until Trump's Republican administration presents a procedure for allowing such appeals. Sweeney's order follows in their footsteps.
Sweeney's order is in effect for 14 days, and she has scheduled an April 21 hearing in the case.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referenced the decision during a press briefing Tuesday, saying "another rogue District Court Judge is trying to block the administration's mass deportation efforts. With this latest injunction, we will fight this in the court of law"
The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition said the judge's order shows the community's voice is being heard.
"We can't just assume and look at any individual and say, 'This is what you deserve,' without them having due process," said Nicole Cervera Loy, CIRC's policy and campaign manager. "[This judge's order] does stop things, yes, there is a procedure. But we must have that procedure so that each person has the opportunity to fight their case in court and be able to be presumed innocent until proven guilty."
CU law professor Deep Gulasekaram, who focuses on immigration and constitutional law, said everyone — including accused criminals — deserves due process.
"The Constitution of the United States is not based on the ends justifying the means… it says that there is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things," he told Denver7. "If there are, in fact, proven criminals, proven people with gang affiliations, the administration is highly likely to be able to deport them. But again, they have to make that proof in court in front of a judge. It's not based on the say-so of the executive [branch]."
In Gulasekaram's opinion, there is reason for all U.S. citizens to be concerned.
"If the president chooses to ignore that order and continues his attack on judges, this is exactly what scholars would define as a constitutional crisis," he warned. "This is exactly the moment at which our constitutional order starts to break down."
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