22-05-2025
Columbus judge says detained immigrant must get due process before he's removed
A U.S. District Judge in Columbus has issued a preliminary injunction for a Venezuelan man detained at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, saying he has not received due process, according to court documents.
The petitioner in Y.A.P.A. vs. Donald J. Trump, et. al., is concerned he will be designated as an 'alien enemy' under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), placed on an expedited removal track and transferred to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) in El Salvador without being able to contest the designation, according to the document.
The document says the petitioner's removal is currently being processed under Section 240 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.
A proclamation by the Trump administration in March allows for Venezuelan citizens age 14 and older who are members of Tren de Aragua, in the U.S. and not naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. to be 'apprehended, restrained, secured and removed as alien enemies,' according to the White House's website.
The petitioner's motion seeks to prevent his transfer outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia until his petition for habeas corpus — a judicial motion forcing law enforcement to justify a prisoner's continued confinement — is decided, according to the document.
A decision Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land, states the respondents can't remove the petitioner as an alien enemy until '(1) Respondents submit to the Court a proposed revised alien enemy removal process as applied to Petitioner that is consistent with Supreme Court opinion in A.A.R.P.; and (2) this Court has entered an order specifically setting forth the due process requirements necessary to protect Petitioner's constitutional rights in light of the most recent Supreme Court opinions.'
The Supreme Court, in A.A.R.P., et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., granted a temporary injunction for two Venezuelan immigrant detainees who asserted they were at imminent risk of being classified as alien enemies and removed from the United States with no record indicating they received any formal notice of removal.
The Venezuelan man's petition for Habeas Corpus, retrieved through the ACLU's website, states he has submitted an affirmative application for asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture and plans to resubmit the application in immigration court.
The petition states Y.A.P.A. was arrested on Feb. 22, 'after Homeland Security Investigations targeted him for allegedly being a 'known associate' of Tren De Aragua.'
He is scheduled for a hearing on May 28 in Stewart Immigration Court.
In his decision, Land states:
'Respondents undoubtedly would prefer that they be allowed to implement any necessary changes to their AEA procedures without judicial oversight. Allowing constitutional rights to be dependent upon the grace of the Executive branch would be a dereliction of duty by this third and independent branch of Government and would be against the public interest. Respondents have demonstrated their intention to test the constitutional limits of Executive power, which is certainly their right; but the Court has the responsibility to assure that unrestrained zeal does not include gaming the system in a manner that deprives an individual of constitutional protections.
...The public interest, while not always vocalized the loudest, requires that we remember that that these constitutional protections do not exist only for those attending lunch at the local Rotary Club, enjoying war stories at the VFW hall or having a beer at the Moose Club lodge. These rights are not rationed based upon political views, and they do not belong solely to those who may be subjectively determined to be great Americans. They extend to those whom many may consider to be the most repugnant among us. This foundational principle is part of what has made, and will continue to make, America great..'
