Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of 2 Venezuelans Accused of Tren de Aragua Gang Ties

The federal government’s effort to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members has been temporarily halted by a federal judge in Colorado.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing in Silver Spring, Md., on Jan. 27, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

A federal judge in Colorado has temporarily blocked the deportation of two Venezuelan nationals accused of gang ties, issuing an emergency order to preserve the court’s jurisdiction while it considers claims raised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that the men are being denied due process.

The case, filed on April 12 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, challenges the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely invoked wartime law that allows the president to detain or deport noncitizens deemed threats during times of war or invasion.

In response to the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney issued a temporary restraining order on April 14 prohibiting federal immigration authorities from removing or transferring the two plaintiffs—identified only by their initials, D.B.U. and R.M.M.—until the court can more fully consider their claims.

“Defendants SHALL NOT REMOVE Petitioners from the District of Colorado or the United States unless or until this Court or the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacates this Order,” Sweeney wrote in her minute order.

The men, who entered the United States illegally and are currently held at the ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, were flagged for removal under a March 15 proclamation issued by President Donald Trump. The order invokes the Alien Enemies Act to justify the swift removal of noncitizens associated with Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan gang that the State Department recently designated a foreign terrorist organization.

Trump says that Tren de Aragua constitutes an invading force operating within U.S. communities and that its members must be deported quickly to protect Americans.

“TdA has engaged in and continues to engage in mass illegal migration to the United States to further its objectives of harming United States citizens, undermining public safety, and supporting the Maduro regime’s goal of destabilizing democratic nations in the Americas, including the United States,” the president said in his proclamation.

Critics, including the ACLU, have argued that the Trump administration is bypassing due process and unlawfully expanding the reach of the Alien Enemies Act to target a non-state actor in peacetime.

According to court filings, the government’s accusations against the two men rely on criteria outlined in ICE’s internal “Alien Enemy Validation Guide,” which reportedly flags individuals based on tattoos, clothing, or unverified affiliations. Both plaintiffs deny any gang ties and claim fear of persecution and torture if returned to Venezuela. One of the plaintiffs alleges that members of Tren de Aragua murdered his relatives.

In a separate April 14 ruling, Sweeney granted the plaintiffs’ request to proceed under pseudonyms, citing the potential danger to their safety if their identities were made public. She also scheduled a hearing on the ACLU’s emergency motion for April 21.

The ACLU has argued that the government is attempting to carry out deportations with as little as 24 hours’ notice, leaving detainees with no realistic opportunity to file habeas petitions or receive judicial review—a practice the group says violates a Supreme Court ruling issued on April 7.

That ruling, in a case known as Trump v. J.G.G., vacated a nationwide block on removals under the Alien Enemies Act but affirmed that noncitizens must receive timely notice and the opportunity to challenge their removal in court through habeas corpus filed in the district in which they are detained.

“Although the Supreme Court made clear that individuals must now be given notice before they are removed pursuant to the Proclamation, so they may challenge the government’s actions in court, the government has yet to explain exactly what notice it intends to provide,” the ACLU wrote in its Colorado complaint. The group noted that in other litigation, government attorneys suggested that 24 hours could be sufficient.

“That suggestion not only defies the Supreme Court’s instructions but could mean that Petitioners may fail to get meaningful notice or opportunity to seek judicial review before being sent permanently to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, where they could spend the rest of their lives,” the complaint reads.

According to the ACLU, more than 130 Venezuelan nationals have already been deported under Trump’s proclamation, many of them transferred to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, a facility criticized for its harsh conditions and lack of access to legal representation. The group claims that deportees have “lost all contact with their attorneys, family, and the world.”

Federal judges in New York and Texas have also issued temporary restraining orders blocking removals under the same proclamation, citing similar concerns over due process and irreparable harm.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Colorado case or Sweeney’s decision to temporarily halt the deportations.