President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Monday, May 12, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump in Pennsylvania has become the first to rule that the president acted within his power by using the Alien Enemies Act to speed up the deportation of Venezuelan men suspected of being part of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines, appointed during Trump’s first term, issued a 43-page opinion on Tuesday stating that the president had the authority to issue a proclamation under the 18th-century wartime law to accelerate the removal of alleged TdA members, as long as they are given “adequate notice and due process,” as mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court last month.
Contrary to other judges’ decisions on the president’s proclamation, including Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. of Texas, Haines’ ruling stands, as they all found that the administration’s actions did not meet the required conditions outlined in the AEA, a law that has only been enforced three times during actual wartime situations.
Under the AEA, the president is authorized to summarily remove “natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects” of a “hostile nation or government” when there is “declared war” against it or when it has “perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States” an “invasion or predatory incursion.” In a controversial and novel use of the power, Trump declared that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) had engaged in an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” of the U.S. such that any member of the group was summarily removable under the Act.
Judges have repeatedly thwarted removals under the AEA since the first planes on March 15 flew migrants to a notorious terrorist prison in El Salvador — likely in violation of a federal judge’s order to have the detainees returned to the country. Notably, the administration has admitted to “wrongfully” removing several individuals under the statute, though officials have made almost no effort to abide by court orders, including the Supreme Court, demanding the government “facilitate” their return.
Judges who addressed the question prior to Haines ultimately reasoned that TdA was not a “government” or “foreign nation” and could not be said to have engaged in an “invasion” or “predatory incursion,” both of which are likely reserved for some form of military action.
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Haines, whose Tuesday order lifts a temporary restraining order she issued last month barring the federal government from removing migrants held in the Western District of Pennsylvania out of the country under the AEA, disagreed with her colleagues’ interpretations of the statute and its requirements.
In her opinion, Haines relies heavily on the fact that Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February deemed TdA a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO)
“[T]he Proclamation and the Declarations that Respondents have submitted to this Court indicate that there is a factual basis for President Trump’s conclusions in the Proclamation,” Haines wrote. “Most of all, the Proclamation references the fact that the Secretary of State has designated TdA as an FTO pursuant to [Title 8 of the United States Code], a designation that heavily supports the conclusions within the Proclamation that TdA is a cohesive group united by a common goal of causing significant disruption to the public safety of the United States.”
The judge goes on to reason that TdA is engaged in a “predatory incursion” because an FTO is a “cohesive group of individuals united by a common goal of causing significant disruption to the common safety of the public,” likening the gang to military detachments and “pirates” that existed at the time the statute was enacted by quoting an 1832 Supreme Court decision.
“The Court calls the reader’s attention to the fact that ‘incursions’ was used here in reference to both pirates and robbers,” Haines wrote in reference to the quote. “In reading this quotation, the Court cannot help but ask: Is a Foreign Terrorist Organization like TdA not the modern equivalent of a pirate or robber?”
However, Haines rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that notifying detainees that they were being removed under the AEA with only 24 hours’ notice was insufficient. She ordered that detainees be given at least 21 days to challenge their designation under the statute, adding that such notification must be provided in a language the detainee can understand.
