Latest news with #AlienEnemiesAct
CNN
19 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Attorneys for wrongly deported Venezuelan asylum seeker will seek criminal contempt proceedings after prisoner swap
Lawyers for a 20-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker who was wrongly deported earlier this year will ask a federal judge in coming days to consider opening criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for 'egregious violations' of her orders. The potential proceedings would open a major new front in the monthslong legal saga surrounding the man, referred to only as 'Cristian' in court filings, who was deported to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador in mid-March under the Alien Enemies Act, a sweeping 18th-century wartime authority President Donald Trump invoked to speed up removals of migrants his administration claimed are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Last week, he was sent back to his home country as part of a prisoner swap with Venezuela. US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, of the federal court in Baltimore, decided earlier this year that Cristian's deportation violated a court settlement protecting some young migrants with pending asylum claims and ordered officials to 'facilitate' his return to the US so he can have his asylum application resolved. The government did little to carry out her directive and his case largely flew under the radar in recent months. But last week, Cristian was among a group of about 250 Venezuelans who had been imprisoned in El Salvador's CECOT prison that were flown back to their home country in exchange for 10 US nationals. 'He was a pawn in this prisoner exchange deal,' Cristian's lawyer, Kevin DeJong, said during a hearing on Tuesday in the case. 'They were taking active, purposeful steps to deport him to the country in which he actually fears persecution.' The attorney told the judge that 'given the history of violations here, criminal contempt should be on the table.' 'There have been recurring violations and just blatant disregard for the settlement agreement, the court's orders,' DeJong said. 'Someone should be held accountable for these egregious violations.' He said they would file a request for the judge to consider opening criminal contempt proceedings within the next 10 days. Gallagher, who was appointed to the bench by Trump during his first term, said DeJong had 'proffered a basis under which you could seek some sanctions or contempt,' but was careful to note that she wasn't at this time making any early conclusions on the matter. The judge, too, seemed skeptical that her earlier directive had been complied with. Until Tuesday, a court-ordered fact-finding process had been underway to determine what officials had been doing to carry out her order. The judge put that process on hold since Cristian is no longer in El Salvador. But, she said, 'It wouldn't be moot as to whether my orders were complied with or not.' Justice Department attorney Ruth Ann Mueller pushed back strongly during Tuesday's hearing on DeJong's claims that the government hasn't complied with court orders in the case and claimed that officials would remove 'domestic barriers' that would prevent Cristian from returning stateside. 'Should Cristian wish to return, the government is ready and able to facilitate that,' she told the judge. Cristian's case has in some ways mirrored that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He had been living in Maryland until March when the Trump administration moved him to CECOT under a different immigration authority. A separate judge in Maryland ordered officials to 'facilitate' his return, and his attorneys are similarly seeking sanctions against the government for their alleged failure to comply with that judge's rulings. Abrego Garcia was eventually brought back to the US to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty.
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Attorneys for wrongly deported Venezuelan asylum seeker will seek criminal contempt proceedings after prisoner swap
Source: CNN Lawyers for a 20-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker who was wrongly deported earlier this year will ask a federal judge in coming days to consider opening criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for 'egregious violations' of her orders. The potential proceedings would open a major new front in the monthslong legal saga surrounding the man, referred to only as 'Cristian' in court filings, who was deported to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador in mid-March under the Alien Enemies Act, a sweeping 18th-century wartime authority President Donald Trump invoked to speed up removals of migrants his administration claimed are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Last week, he was sent back to his home country as part of a prisoner swap with Venezuela. US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, of the federal court in Baltimore, decided earlier this year that Cristian's deportation violated a court settlement protecting some young migrants with pending asylum claims and ordered officials to 'facilitate' his return to the US so he can have his asylum application resolved. The government did little to carry out her directive and his case largely flew under the radar in recent months. But last week, Cristian was among a group of about 250 Venezuelans who had been imprisoned in El Salvador's CECOT prison that were flown back to their home country in exchange for 10 US nationals. 'He was a pawn in this prisoner exchange deal,' Cristian's lawyer, Kevin DeJong, said during a hearing on Tuesday in the case. 'They were taking active, purposeful steps to deport him to the country in which he actually fears persecution.' The attorney told the judge that 'given the history of violations here, criminal contempt should be on the table.' 'There have been recurring violations and just blatant disregard for the settlement agreement, the court's orders,' DeJong said. 'Someone should be held accountable for these egregious violations.' He said they would file a request for the judge to consider opening criminal contempt proceedings within the next 10 days. Gallagher, who was appointed to the bench by Trump during his first term, said DeJong had 'proffered a basis under which you could seek some sanctions or contempt,' but was careful to note that she wasn't at this time making any early conclusions on the matter. The judge, too, seemed skeptical that her earlier directive had been complied with. Until Tuesday, a court-ordered fact-finding process had been underway to determine what officials had been doing to carry out her order. The judge put that process on hold since Cristian is no longer in El Salvador. But, she said, 'It wouldn't be moot as to whether my orders were complied with or not.' Justice Department attorney Ruth Ann Mueller pushed back strongly during Tuesday's hearing on DeJong's claims that the government hasn't complied with court orders in the case and claimed that officials would remove 'domestic barriers' that would prevent Cristian from returning stateside. 'Should Cristian wish to return, the government is ready and able to facilitate that,' she told the judge. Cristian's case has in some ways mirrored that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He had been living in Maryland until March when the Trump administration moved him to CECOT under a different immigration authority. A separate judge in Maryland ordered officials to 'facilitate' his return, and his attorneys are similarly seeking sanctions against the government for their alleged failure to comply with that judge's rulings. Abrego Garcia was eventually brought back to the US to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty. See Full Web Article
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Beaten, kicked, humiliated: Deported Venezuelans allege abuse in El Salvador prison; return home after US swap
Migrants deported by US arrive in Venezuela (AP photo) Venezuelan migrants who had been detained for months in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison returned to their homes this week, describing their time behind bars as abusive. Several men and their family members reported the stories of being beaten, kicked, and humiliated while locked up. Some showed visible bruises, news agency Associated Press reported. Their release came after a prisoner exchange deal involving the US, El Salvador, and Venezuela. Ten American citizens, including a former Navy SEAL, were released by Venezuela. In return, over 200 Venezuelan men deported by US under an old wartime law were handed back to the Maduro government after spending four months in El Salvador. These migrants were sent to El Salvador earlier this year after the Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act to justify their removal, accusing them of being linked to Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. No formal charges were made public. Migrants and their families say that tattoos and appearances were wrongly used as evidence of gang affiliation. Venezuela's state TV aired video testimonies of released migrants alleging torture, sexual abuse, and severe beatings. Interior minister Diosdado Cabello said only a handful of the deported men faced pending legal cases. The rest, he said, would be allowed to return home after medical checks and background reviews. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Swelling and internal bleeding in the brain, help this baby Donate For Health Donate Now Undo Venezuelan attorney general Tarek William Saab has also announced an investigation into the allegations against Salvadoran officials. In CECOT, prisoners cannot receive visitors, and hearings happen only via Zoom. Cell signal is blocked within a mile-and-a-half radius surrounding the prison to keep any information from getting out, to contain the power of gangs, which authorities said used to control 85% of the country's territory.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Lawyers say Venezuelan migrant ordered returned to US sent to home country under prisoner exchange
BALTIMORE (AP) — Despite a judge's order calling for his return to the United States from El Salvador, a Venezuelan migrant was instead sent back to his home country in a prisoner exchange deal reached last week, an unexpected development that left his lawyers scrambling to locate him. It marks the latest wrinkle in yet another messy court battle over the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, which has repeatedly challenged the power of federal courts. Attorneys for the Venezuelan native — identified only as Cristian in court papers — said during a court hearing Tuesday that they don't know where he is or how to get in touch with him. Migrants deported months ago by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown arrive at Simon Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) After he was deported to a Salvadoran mega-prison in March, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ordered the government to facilitate the his return to the U.S. She cited the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to the same notorious prison. Cristian is among a group of plaintiffs who entered the country as unaccompanied children seeking asylum. A 2019 settlement agreement said they couldn't be deported until their asylum claims were adjudicated. Because his application is still pending, Gallagher said, the Trump administration violated that agreement in sending Cristian to a notorious prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, which was built to hold alleged gang members. And now he's back in Venezuela, the country he escaped years ago because he feared persecution, his attorneys argued during Tuesday's hearing in federal court in Baltimore. 'They sent him back to the one country he's actually seeking asylum from,' attorney Kevin DeJong told the court. 'We were shocked to see that happen on Friday.' Cristian was released from CECOT along with 251 other Venezuelan migrants who had been imprisoned in El Salvador since March. President Donald Trump paid El Salvador $6 million to house them there after he issued a proclamation calling for the arrest and removal of Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime law. As part of the deal on Friday, Venezuela released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for getting back the 252 deportees. 'Cristian was a pawn in this plan, I don't know how else to say it,' DeJong said. 'He was a pawn in this prisoner exchange deal.' DeJong said Cristian's legal team hasn't been able to get in touch with him since. Gallagher, who was nominated to the federal bench by Trump in 2019, told the government's lawyers Tuesday to help provide contact information for Cristian. But Justice Department attorney Ruth Ann Mueller wasn't able to confirm even where in Venezuela he ended up. 'This is a fast-evolving situation,' she said. The judge said she's seen no evidence showing the Trump administration tried to get Cristian sent directly to the U.S. upon his release from prison in El Salvador. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they plan to file a motion requesting sanctions against the government for failing to comply with the court's orders. Mueller, however, argued they were in compliance, saying she believes 'what happened with El Salvador is moot now,' given Cristian's release. She said facilitating his return looks 'very different now that he's in Venezuela.' The first step would be Cristian's lawyers contacting him and confirming whether he indeed wants to return to the U.S. Before his deportation, he was transferred into federal custody from a jail in Harris County, Texas, in January. Immigration officials have already determined that Cristian isn't entitled to asylum, according to earlier testimony from the government. But his lawyers argue he's still entitled to a ruling on the merits of his asylum application by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Attorneys for the government wrote in court papers last week that Venezuelan leaders have pledged not to interfere with travel plans for anyone in Cristian's position who has to attend legal proceedings in the U.S. 'With these assurances now having been obtained, and Cristian now having been released from El Salvador's custody, the Department of State has pledged to assist the Department of Homeland Security in facilitating the return of Cristian should he wish to return,' the attorneys wrote. Mellissa Harper, acting assistant director of enforcement and removal operations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a written declaration to the court that State Department and embassy officials have assumed responsibility for high-level diplomatic discussions about the situation. Gallagher ordered the government to file weekly status reports as the case proceeds.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Supreme Court scuttled one way judges blocked Trump policies but others remain
After the Supreme Court limited nationwide blocks on Trump policies, judges have hindered his priorities through class actions and administrative challenges. WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump recently declared victory against what he called "radical left judges" blocking his second-term policies − such as toughening immigration enforcement and reducing the federal workforce − after the Supreme Court pulled the rug out from under their reasoning. But at least seven judges − four appointed by Republican presidents, including one by Trump − have continued to block Trump policies under legal strategies that the high-court justices suggested in their landmark ruling. From New Hampshire to Texas, judges with lifetime appointments to the federal bench have temporarily blocked Trump's policies through two bedrock legal strategies that allow a president's opponents to challenge federal polices: class-action lawsuits and administrative challenges. The latest blocks hit the Republican chief executive's restrictions on birthright citizenship, deportations under the Alien Enemies Act and layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services. More: Supreme Court hands down wins for Trump and Obamacare: Recap of the rulings Those orders came after the Supreme Court changed the litigation landscape on June 27 with a decision in a dispute over Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship. In the case called Trump v. CASA, the justices limited nationwide injunctions that individual judges had been issuing − a ruling that the president and his top Justice Department appointees celebrated at the White House soon after. But even the Supreme Court justices suggested class actions or administrative challenges could take their place − and judges around the country were listening. "The short answer," according to Nicholas Bagley, a law professor at the University of Michigan, is that the impact of the court's decision "is likely to be muted." "Look, there's lots of other ways to get widespread relief," Bagley told USA TODAY. "The fact is they are available now." Under class actions, judges can broaden a case from a handful of people to thousands or even millions who argue they were all harmed by a Trump policy. Decisions then carry widespread and potentially nationwide impact. More: Thousands of federal employees are on a roller coaster of being fired, rehired Another strategy is to challenge a regulation under the Administrative Procedure Act, a perennial workhorse since 1946, after the expansion of federal agencies under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, that allows legal opponents to argue government policies are irrational or without justification. A judge who agrees with people or groups challenging a policy can then 'set aside' the regulation, which traditionally invalidated it for the whole country. Both legal strategies have drawbacks and experts said the Supreme Court may eventually put limits on these sorts of lawsuits, too. But the associate justices who work alongside Chief Justice John Roberts just laid out a roadmap for them to challenge government policies and lower court federal judges have already begun certifying class actions and upholding administrative challenges. Presidents of both parties complained about judges blocking policies nationwide Nationwide injunctions have been a thorn in the side of presidential administrations of both parties. The argument against them is that a district court judge in one of 94 jurisdictions nationwide shouldn't be able to halt a policy for the entire country, whether it's then-President Joe Biden's forgiveness of student loans or Trump's restrictions on birthright citizenship spelled out via executive order on the first day of his second term. The number of nationwide blocks on administration policies exploded in recent decades. George W. Bush faced six, Barack Obama had 12 and Biden had 14, according to a study in Harvard Law Review. Trump faced 64 in his first term and dozens more in the first months of his second term. More: How Trump's clash with the courts is brewing into an 'all-out war' Attorney General Pam Bondi complained at a news conference the day of the Supreme Court's CASA decision that 35 of the first 40 national blocks on Trump policies came from five jurisdictions, where regional judges thought they were 'emperors." 'These judges have attempted to dictate the law for the entire nation,' Trump said June 27. 'This was a colossal abuse of power.' Supreme Court upends nationwide injunctions in birthright case Rather than rule on the constitutionality of Trump's birthright order in the CASA case, Justice Amy Coney Barrett's 6-3 majority opinion focused on judges blocking presidential policies. She wrote that under the 1789 Judiciary Act, regional judges lacked that authority unless necessary to provide 'complete relief to the plaintiffs before the court.' Barrett's opinion ordered judges to review their nationwide injunctions within 30 days, which experts expect to lead to many being abandoned. But justices offered suggestions for where litigants could turn next to challenge the government. More: Trump praises Amy Coney Barrett, rips NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani: Recap Justice Samuel Alito, who agreed with Barrett, suggested people could file class-action lawsuits. The hitch is that it can be time-consuming and costly to get a judge to sort out who might be harmed by an administration policy and certify a class of litigants. 'Putting the kibosh on universal injunctions does nothing to disrupt' the requirements of class-action lawsuits, Alito wrote. 'But district courts should not view today's decision as an invitation to certify nationwide classes without scrupulous adherence to the rigors of' class action rules. Alan Trammell, a law professor at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, said after Barrett's ruling that class actions 'are going to bear a whole lot more of the weight of this litigation.' But Alito 'more or less said the quiet part out loud' that it could be hard to get judges to certify classes, Trammell said. 'Depending on your perspective, there is the risk or the possibility that there will be these snap decisions or what somebody referred to as drive-by class actions when it's supposed to be a fairly rigorous process,' Trammell told USA TODAY. But other experts said it won't be that hard to get judges to certify class actions. That's because in cases against the government, people are trying to halt a policy. In cases against another person or business, people are often trying to win damages, which can get complicated as judges resolve who deserves a share of the money and how much. David Marcus, a law professor at the University of California Los Angeles, studied class actions beginning in 2011, when the Supreme Court tightened restrictions on them, and found courts were still favorable to litigants in 75% of cases through 2020. 'There shouldn't be a lot of fights over whether the evidence supports classification,' Davis told USA TODAY. 'Most of them are quite easy, clear-cut cases.' Judges swiftly declare class actions for birthright, asylum cases Judges have already begun certifying classes of plaintiffs challenging the Trump administration in the month since the high court's decision in late June. The same day as Barrett's ruling, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit against Trump's birthright citizenship order in New Hampshire before the same judge who ordered the nationwide injunction in the CASA case. On July 10, U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante temporarily blocked Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship by ruling the litigants could proceed as a class. The class covers all children or future children born after Feb. 20, 2025, to parents who weren't citizens or legal permanent residents. Laplante found the children 'have demonstrated likelihood' of eventually winning the case and 'are likely to suffer irreparable harm' if the policy isn't blocked while the case is litigated. Marcus, the UCLA professor, called the ruling "bullet-proof." "It's not a quick-and-dirty order," Marcus said. "It's a picture-perfect administration of well-settled doctrine." In another case in Washington D.C., three nonprofits challenged a Trump proclamation issued on Inauguration Day 2025 that disallowed immigrants from remaining in the country while pursuing asylum claims. On July 2, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss declared anyone affected by Proclamation 10888 a class and overturned it. Moss ruled that nothing in the Immigration and Nationality Act or the Constitution grants the president the sweeping authority in his proclamation. The Trump administration appealed the ruling July 3. Even before the CASA decision, federal judges in two cases blocked the government from deporting Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act as alleged gang members of Tren de Aragua. In southern Texas, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriquez, who was appointed by Trump, certified a class for Venezuelans who were designated enemy aliens. Rodriguez permanently blocked the administration from using the statute to deport alleged gang members. In southern New York, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein also certified a class and temporarily blocked deportations. The government has appealed both decisions to circuit courts. What is the Administrative Procedure Act? Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who also joined Barrett in the CASA decision, suggested another remedy. He wrote that litigants may ask a judge under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to ''set aside' a new agency rule' while a case is argued. Adam Zimmerman, a law professor at the University of Southern California, said Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts have each written favorably about litigants challenging government policies under the APA. If someone challenged that strategy, they could side with justices who opposed Barrett's opinion − Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson − to uphold the strategy. "I think the court didn't just open the door open to nationwide relief, I think there's a really good chance there are five justices who are ready to walk right through it," Zimmerman told USA TODAY. Some judges have begun doing just that. One technicality is that the APA covers department regulations, not the president. After Trump issues an executive order, agencies adopt regulations to put it into effect. The process can take months or years as agencies make initial proposals and gather public comment before issuing a final rule. The APA sets out the procedures for adopting regulations and also the rules for how judges review them. Litigants challenge the regulations, not the president's order. "A president telling his subordinates to think about doing nasty stuff is not enough for the courts to get involved," Bagley said. "The agencies have to do the nasty stuff." Judge blocks HHS layoffs under APA as 'arbitrary and capricious' In federal court in Rhode Island, 19 states challenged the firing of thousands of workers from the Department of Health and Human Services by claiming the move deprived them of services for citizens that Congress mandated. HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy acknowledged to reporters that in making the staffing cuts that '20% would have to be reinstalled because we'll make mistakes.' He said science jobs and frontline health jobs weren't cut. On July 1, U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose temporarily blocked the layoffs based on violations of the APA by ruling HHS's action 'was both arbitrary and capricious as well as contrary to law.' More: Judge says Donald Trump cannot downsize federal agencies without Congress 'Yet another group of plaintiffs seek relief from a federal court to halt sweeping changes to a federal agency's operations which they claim disregard congressionally mandated programs to the detriment and peril of all who live in the United States,' DuBose wrote. Justice Department lawyers urged the judge July 11 to restrict her block to only the programs affected in states participating in the lawsuit. DuBose asked for more written arguments by July 31 about how the Supreme Court decision could affect the case. Judge halts 'slapdash approach' to erasing HHS web pages In federal court in Washington, D.C., HHS got into another legal scrape when the advocacy group Doctors for America challenged its decision to take down web pages filled with vital healthcare information. The removals, which included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration, were based on another one of Trump's Inauguration Day executive orders from Jan. 20 declaring only two sexes and forbidding government spending on 'gender ideology.' More: Federal health agency finalizes mass layoffs after Supreme Court lifts pause On July 3, U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled the department took 'a slapdash approach' by removing information that mentioned 'gender' or 'pregnant people' from pages that doctors had come to rely upon. He ordered the department to restore the missing pages but said the government could take them down later if done through 'reasoned decisionmaking.' 'This case involves government officials acting first and thinking later,' Bates wrote, by removing 'hundreds or even thousands of health care webpages and datasets.' The government submitted a report July 18 saying that 67 web pages out of 212 identified in the lawsuit had been restored. Six web pages had been removed for reasons other than a memo from the Office of Personnel Management or the HHS guidance disputed in the lawsuit. Officials continue to review other web pages for restoration "as soon as practically possible," the government report said. Judge 'set aside' DHS directive to end work permits for Haitians In federal court in New York, nine Haitians and two advocacy groups sued the Department of Homeland Security to prevent an early end to a temporary program providing work permits and protection from deportation after earthquakes. On July 1, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan decided under the APA to temporarily 'set aside' DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's directive to end the program that began in 2010 and was extended several times. Noem sought to end the program six months early on Aug. 3. Cogan distinguished his ruling from an injunction. He said the government wouldn't be hurt by a postponement and that the government could still end the program if it went through the right steps. 'These orders are different in nature from injunctions, which prohibit an agency from taking a certain action at all, ever,' Cogan wrote. Government lawyers submitted a letter July 18 saying Noem acknowledged the temporary program would end Feb. 3, 2026, as scheduled under the last extension. What's next? Experts place no 'strong bets' given high stakes of the disputes As judges increasingly wade into class actions and administrative challenges, legal experts say the Supreme Court could eventually tinker with those legal strategies, too. 'I actually worry that sometimes the harder cases make bad law,' Zimmerman said. 'I do worry that with the political stakes involved, the Supreme Court might feel pressure to make a rushed or bad decision that could have effects on other types of really beneficial class actions. I hope that doesn't happen.' More: Trump wins again. Conservatives like Amy Coney Barrett again. Supreme Court takeaways Another possibility deals with the APA. Judges have 'set aside' regulations, effectively invalidating them for the entire country, which Bagley calls 'a national injunction under another name.' But he argued that judges could begin limiting regulatory remedies to the participants in lawsuits, rather than the whole country, just as the Supreme Court limited nationwide injunctions in CASA. 'I think we're going to see some development of the law,' Bagley said. 'I think we can't make strong bets at this point about how the law will develop.'
