Trump Administration Must Give Some Venezuelans 21 Days Notice Before Deportations: Judge

The order applies to all noncitizens in Colorado subject to Trump’s Tren de Aragua proclamation.

Venezuelan illegal immigrants deported from the United States disembark from a Conviasa Airlines plane upon arrival at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on March 24, 2025. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration must provide Venezuelans whom officials arrest for alleged links to the Tren de Aragua gang three weeks’ notice before removing them from the country, a federal judge ruled on April 22.

A temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney applies to all noncitizens in Colorado who were, are, or will be subject to President Donald Trump’s March proclamation declaring an invasion of the United States by the gang and directing the deportation of its members.

Government officials must under the order provide 21 days’ notice to the noncitizens advising them that the government intends to deport them, that they can hire an attorney, and that they have a right to seek judicial review.

The notice “must be written in a language the individual understands,” Sweeney wrote.

The judge also required the government not to remove any of the affected noncitizens from Colorado, until at least May 6. The restraining order may be extended by then, or turned into a preliminary injunction—a longer-term form of relief.

Sweeney sided with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is representing two Venezuelan nationals who were apprehended under Trump’s proclamation and said they feared being deported.

Lawyers with the ACLU have also asked the court to certify a class for the legal action that would include all noncitizens in Colorado who were, are, or will be subject to Trump’s proclamation.

Government officials had argued that the two men who brought the lawsuit were assessed as not being covered by the proclamation. That means the men have not received notices of removal, and the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case, they said.

Sweeney has not certified the class but said on Tuesday that her order covers all the individuals who would be in the class, in part because the U.S. Supreme Court recently required the government not to deport any alleged Tren de Aragua members in northern Texas even though a proposed class in that litigation has not been certified.

“Where the Supreme Court has prohibited the government from removing members of a putative class that a district found not to be at risk of imminent or irreparable harm—based on the government’s representations—the Court must follow suit,” the judge wrote.

Sweeney also said the Venezuelan immigrants have met the standards for a temporary restraining order, including that the Alien Enemies Act does not support Trump’s declaration that Tren de Aragua (TdA), with assistance from the Venezuelan government, is invading the United States.

The government has not provided evidence that a foreign nation or government has invaded the country, which is required under the act, according to the judge.

“At a bare minimum, ‘invasion’ means more than the Proclamation’s description of TdA’s ‘infiltrat[ion], ’irregular warfare,‘ and ’hostile actions’ against the United States,” the judge wrote, while acknowledging “the Proclamation’s conclusory description of ’the devastating effects of [TdA’s] invasion.'”

She also said that she has jurisdiction in the matter, pointing to a Supreme Court decision in a different case involving the Alien Enemies Act. Justices said in that ruling that people subject to being detained and removed under the act are entitled to judicial review.