Appeals Court Showdown Over Trump-Era Mass Deportations

J.G.G. v. Trump contests the administration’s sudden invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act

WASHINGTON— A federal judge ruled last week that the Trump administration cannot deport Venezuelan migrants under the Alien Enemies Act without providing them due process, effectively halting a controversial policy that led to the removal of over 260 individuals to El Salvador despite a court order blocking the deportations.

The ruling, delivered on March 21st, 2025, by Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, follows legal challenges by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Democracy Forward, representing five Venezuelan detainees. The lawsuit, J.G.G. v. Trump, contested the administration’s sudden invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law, to justify the deportation of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua without hearings.

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President Donald Trump declared the gang was engaging in “irregular warfare” against the U.S., using this declaration to authorize immediate mass deportations. Planes carrying detainees left within hours of the announcement on March 15, prompting swift legal action.

Boasberg issued an emergency temporary restraining order that same day, certifying Venezuelan migrants as a protected class and ordering that any ongoing deportation flights be turned around. However, despite the order, three planes landed in El Salvador, where detainees were transferred to the notorious CECOT prison, a high-security facility known for housing individuals linked to terrorism.

In his March 21st ruling, Boasberg reaffirmed that deportations under the Alien Enemies Act must include due process, stating that foreign nationals are entitled to constitutional protections. “I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order and who ordered this,” Boasberg said, criticizing the administration for its defiance.