Judges Take Steps To Stop Deportation Of Five Venezuelans Under 18th-Century Wartime Law

Three men are being detained in a facility in Texas while two more are being held in an Orange County, New York, facility.

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Federal judges in New York and Texas on Wednesday took legal action to block the government from moving five Venezuelans out of the country until they can fight the government’s attempt to remove them under a rarely-invoked law that gives the president the power to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war.

The men were identified as belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim their lawyers dispute.

Three men are being detained in a facility in Texas while two more are being held in an Orange County, New York, facility. One man in Texas is HIV positive and fears lacking access to medical care if deported.

Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. signed a temporary restraining order in Texas while Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said at a New York hearing that he planned to sign a temporary restraining order as well to block removals while the court challenges proceed.

The actions came after civil liberties lawyers in Texas and New York sued in defense of the Venezuelans who are at risk of removal from the U.S. under a rarely-invoked law that gives the president the power to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war.