Tag Archives: Alien Enemies Act

Latin Times: Venezuelans Deported To El Salvador Are Getting Cases Dismissed And Advocates Say It’s To ‘Complete Their Disappearance’

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At least 14 cases have reportedly taken place over the past weeks

Venezuelans deported to El Salvador are increasingly seeing their cases dismissed, a development advocates claim is a way to complete their “disappearance” from the U.S. legal system and further complicate their return from imprisonment in the Central American country.

NBC News reported that at least 14 asylum cases have been dismissed over the past weeks. “It seems the government’s intention in dismissing these cases across the country is to complete the disappearance of people to El Salvador, to end their legal proceedings, and to act as though they weren’t here seeking asylum in the first place,” Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, told the outlet. She is representing Andry Hernandez Romero, who was involved in such a case before being sent to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador.

Venezuelans Deported To El Salvador Are Getting Cases Dismissed And Advocates Say It’s To ‘Complete Their Disappearance’
At least 14 migrants deported to El Salvador have seen their asylum cases dismissed in the U.S. Advocates say the goal is completing their “disappearance” of the country’s legal system

https://www.latintimes.com/venezuelans-deported-el-salvador-are-getting-cases-dismissed-advocates-say-its-complete-their-583953

Talking Points Memo: The ‘Invasion’ Invention: The Far Right’s Long Legal Battle to Make Immigrants the Enemy

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The Trump administration is using the claim that immigrants have “invaded” the country to justify possibly suspending habeas corpus, part of the constitutional right to due process. A faction of the far right has been building this case for years.

When top Trump adviser Stephen Miller threatened on May 9 that the administration is “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus in response to an “invasion” from undocumented immigrants, he was operating on a fringe legal theory that a right-wing faction has been working to legitimize for more than a decade.

…

Hard-liners have referred to immigrants as “invaders” as long as the U.S. has had immigration. By 2022, invasion rhetoric, which had previously been relegated to white nationalist circles, had become such a staple of Republican campaign ads that most of the public agreed an invasion of the U.S. via the southern border was underway.

Now, however, the claim that the U.S. is under invasion has become the legal linchpin of President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-immigrant campaign.

The claim is Trump’s central justification for invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport roughly 140 Venezuelans to CECOT, the Salvadoran megaprison, without due process. (The administration cited different legal authority for the remaining deportees.) The Trump administration contends they are members of a gang, Tren de Aragua, that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is directing to infiltrate and operate in the United States. Lawyers and families of many of the deportees have presented evidence the prisoners are not even members of Tren de Aragua.

The contention is also the throughline of Trump’s day one executive order “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” That document calls for the expansion of immigration removal proceedings without court hearings and for legal attacks against sanctuary jurisdictions, places that refuse to commit local resources to immigration enforcement.

So far, no court has bought the idea that the U.S. is truly under invasion….

And therein lies the problem: The Trump regime is off pursuing an unconstitutional tangent to solve a problem that is improperly framed as an “invasion”.

It’s a long well-researched article. Please click on the link below and read the entire article.

The ‘Invasion’ Invention: The Far Right’s Long Legal Battle to Make Immigrants the Enemy
This article first appeared at ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign…

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/the-invasion-invention-the-far-rights-long-legal-battle-to-make-immigrants-the-enemy

Talking Points Memo: More Than 50 Men Entered The US Legally Only To Later Be Sent To CECOT, Report Finds

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More than two months after the Trump administration flew more than 200 people to a detention camp in El Salvador, there’s still a lot that remains unclear.

We still don’t know who, exactly, the government sent there. We don’t know how many people were aboard each plane that went from Texas to El Salvador on March 15; we don’t know who was removed under the wartime Alien Enemies Act, and who was removed under more standard immigration authorities. The question of whether non-citizens that the U.S. government is paying El Salvador to hold are entitled to habeas corpus protections is also, somewhat ominously, unanswered.

It’s shocking given the lawlessness of the operation: the Trump administration sought to shield these removals from judicial scrutiny from the start, and, per the finding of one federal judge, sought to delay a court hearing until the airplanes could depart for El Salvador.

A report published this week by the Cato Institute adds another egregious fact to this story: many of those sent to El Salvador entered the United States legally.

The researchers behind the study attempted to learn as much as they could about a list of 238 men rendered to CECOT, the El Salvador prison, on March 15, obtained and reported by CBS News. They found that at least 50 of the more than 200 men sent to El Salvador complied with U.S. immigration law as they entered the country.

Their resulting removal and indefinite confinement in El Salvador has been a betrayal, David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute and the author of the study, told TPM.

So much for due process and the Bill of Rights in Trump’s Amerika!

More Than 50 Men Entered The US Legally Only To Later Be Sent To CECOT, Report Finds
More than two months after the Trump administration flew more than 200…

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/more-than-50-men-entered-the-us-legally-only-to-later-be-sent-to-cecot-report-finds

The Hill: Vance: Courts trying to ‘literally overturn the will of the American people’

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Vice-President J.D. [“Dunce”] Vance waded into the tug-of-war between the courts and executive branch in an interview published earlier this week, warning that the courts should pull back or risk stepping on the will of the American people.

How simple can I make this, Bubba?

The Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the courts exist to protect the rights and due process of our people from mob rule. Our rights are inalienable. The will of the people is irrelevant in this context.

How the hell did you ever pass high school civics, let alone earn a law degree? Your apparent stupidity is mindboggling.

Vance: Courts trying to ‘literally overturn the will of the American people’

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5315703-vance-judiciary-immigration-voters

Law & Crime: ‘Unquestionably violative of this court’s order’: Judge upbraids Trump admin for deporting migrants to war-torn third country without due process

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A federal judge on Wednesday said that the Trump administration had “unquestionably” violated his order by deporting several migrants to South Sudan — a country from which none of the migrants are from — without due process or a reasonable opportunity to raise concerns of their fear of the war-torn nation, an action he said could amount to criminal contempt of court.

U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy upbraided attorneys from the Justice Department, accusing them of ignoring the “long history” of legal precedent surrounding due process rights as well as recent orders from the U.S. Supreme Court when they sent seven men to South Sudan with less than 24 hours notice.

Murphy last month issued a preliminary injunction barring the government from deporting migrants to third countries without giving them a “reasonable opportunity” to raise concerns about that country and the possible violence they could face.

Murphy scheduled a hearing after an emergency motion filed by attorneys for the plaintiffs informed the court that at least two of their clients had been notified on Monday evening that they were being removed to South Sudan and were transported out of ICE facilities at around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

“The department’s actions in this case are unquestionably violative of this court’s order,” Murphy said at Wednesday’s hearing. “It is plain to me that an ‘opportunity to be heard’ of only several hours that were not during business hours, where you couldn’t raise consult with your attorney or your family is insufficient. It was impossible for these people to have a meaningful opportunity to object to their removal to South Sudan.”

Murphy emphasized that even the Supreme Court justices recently confirmed that 24 hours of notice is “plainly insufficient” for the purpose of due process, stating, “I don’t see how anybody could think these people had a reasonable chance to object.”

Judge slams Trump admin for ‘unquestionably’ violating order on third-country deportations
A federal judge on Wednesday said that the Trump administration had “unquestionably” violated his order by deporting several migrants to South Sudan without due process.
‘Unquestionably violative of this court’s order’: Judge upbraids Trump admin for deporting migrants to war-torn third country without due process

Washington Examiner: Judge rules Trump administration violated court order with migrant flight to Africa

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A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated an order he issued last month barring officials from deporting people to countries they are not from without first giving them an adequate chance to object to their removal.

The decision from Judge Brian E. Murphy came after a hearing in Boston to consider an emergency motion filed by lawyers on behalf of a group of men who they said were being deported and sent to South Sudan.

When the hearing began, officials from the Department of Homeland Security said eight immigrants were deported Tuesday on a flight. The officials did not say which country the men were being sent to.

Murphy said the government gave the deported men just over 24 hours’ notice that they were being removed from the country. He called the time frame “plainly insufficient.” 

“The department’s actions in this case are unquestionably violative of this court’s order,” he said.

And King Donald gets bent all out of shape:

The Trump administration slammed Murphy as an “activist judge” after the hearing, accusing him of trying to protect “criminal illegal immigrant monsters.”

“A local judge in Massachusetts is trying to force the United States to bring back these uniquely barbaric monsters …

No, King Donald, they are human beings just like you and I, and they are entitled to their day in court.

Judge rules Trump administration violated court order with migrant flight to Africa
The Trump administration slammed Judge Brian E. Murphy as an “activist judge” after the hearing, accusing him of trying to protect “criminal illegal immigrant monsters.”
Judge rules Trump administration violated court order with migrant flight to Africa

Also here (no paywall):

Judge rules Trump administration violated court order with migrant flight to Africa
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated an order he issued last month barring officials from deporting people to countries they are not from without first giving them an adequate chance to object to their removal. The decision from Judge Brian E. Murphy came after a hearing in Boston to consider an emergency […]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/judge-rules-trump-administration-violated-court-order-with-migrant-flight-to-africa/ar-AA1FdWGa

Washington Examiner: Appellate judge blasts courts’ ‘special treatment’ for illegal immigrants

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Circuit Judge James Ho issued a blistering concurrence Tuesday, taking aim at the Supreme Court and other courts’ “special treatment” for illegal immigrants in legal proceedings.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued an order to expedite the oral arguments of a challenge to the deportation of a group of Venezuelan nationals under the Alien Enemies Act in Texas. The order came after the Supreme Court vacated the appellate court’s previous ruling, saying it lacked jurisdiction, and denied a bid by the migrants’ lawyers to temporarily stop President Donald Trump’s administration from deporting the group of foreign nationals under the AEA.

Apparently Slo Ho didn’t appreciate the urgency of the higher court and the fact that the higher court had vacated their previous ruling for lack of jurisdiction.

Kudos for the Supreme Court’s sense of urgency. When people are being deported, they can be here today and gone tomorrow, if not sooner.

That’s hardly “special treatment for illegal immigrants”. They’re people, too.

Judge blasts courts’ ‘special treatment’ for illegal immigrants
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued an order expediting oral arguments of a challenge to Trump’s deportations.
Appellate judge blasts courts’ ‘special treatment’ for illegal immigrants

Another article here:

Trump judge slams Supreme Court ‘disrespect’ after ruling
A circuit court judge criticized the Supreme Court after it blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to deport Venezuelan migrants.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-judge-slams-supreme-court-after-ruling-2075295

NBC News: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem struggles to define habeas corpus at Senate hearing

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“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country,” Noem said. “That’s incorrect,” a Democratic senator responded.

My God, how stupid is this woman?

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem mangled a response to a question about habeas corpus at a Senate hearing Tuesday, referring to the constitutional right of due process as a “right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., asked Noem about the constitutional protection after noting that White House adviser Stephen Miller told reporters earlier this month that the administration was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, the right to challenge an arrest or imprisonment.

“I want to clarify your position,” Hassan asked. “What is habeas corpus?”

“Well, habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country, and suspend their right to … ,” Noem responded before she was cut off by Hassan.

“That’s incorrect,” the senator said.

“Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people. If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason,” Hassan said, calling it a “foundational right.”

“So Secretary Noem, do you support the core protection that habeas corpus provides, that the government must provide a public reason in order to detain and imprison someone?” she asked.

Noem responded, “I support habeas corpus. I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not.” 

Uhh … no, he doesn’t.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem struggles to define habeas corpus at Senate hearing
“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country,” Noem said. “That’s incorrect,” a Democratic senator responded.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna207986

Talking Points Memo: Trump DOJ Admits It Used Bogus Info In Key Deportation Case

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In an important federal case in Massachusetts over whether deportees can be sent to third countries rather than their countries of origin, the Trump administration admitted Friday to a grievous error and managed to compound it in the process.

It’s a bit complicated so let me boil it down to its essentials:

  • Background: A gay Guatemalan national who had a U.S. immigration judge order barring his removal to his home country because he feared continued persecution was instead deported to Mexico in February by the Trump administration, partly on the grounds that he had told ICE that he didn’t fear being sent to Mexico. That was odd because the man, identified only by the initials O.C.G., had previously testified that he had been targeted and raped in Mexico, his lawyers say.
  • Thursday: The Trump DOJ abruptly cancelled the scheduled deposition of an ICE official “whom Defendants previously identified as giving Plaintiff O.C.G. notice of deportation to Mexico and recording his response of lack of fear,” O.C.G.’s lawyers later told the court.
  • Friday: The Trump DOJ filed a “Notice of Errata” admitting that during the judge’s ordered discovery in the case it had been unable to “identify any officer who asked O.C.G. whether he had a fear of return to Mexico.” A key factual element of the Trump administration’s case had evaporated. But it got worse …
  • Sunday: Lawyers for the deportee – who is now in hiding in Guatemala because he fears persecution as a gay man – filed an emergency motion pointing out, among other things, that the government’s filing about its own error revealed the deportees name and other information, further jeopardizing his safety despite a court order anonymizing his identifying information.

Still with me? In the course of admitting its error, the Trump administration outed the gay man who it had wrongfully deported in the first place.

This is what happens when you staff up with a bunch of sycophantic suck-ups and bimbos instead of competent personnel!

Trump DOJ Admits It Used Bogus Info In Key Deportation Case
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This…

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/trump-doj-admits-it-used-bogus-info-in-key-deportation-case

Huffington Post: The Supreme Court Has Officially Had Enough Of Donald Trump’s Excuses

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A recent decision by the court shows just how done it is with the Trump administration’s failure to obey its orders in Alien Enemies Act cases

Early Friday evening, the Supreme Court issued a pointed decision in the case of a group of Venezuelan detainees who previously faced the imminent risk of being sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador by the Trump administration. In addition to rejecting the administration’s choice to give these detainees only 24 hours notice of their removal, the decision answered a question indirectly posed in the case. Is the highest court in the nation sick of the Trump administration’s bullshit?

The answer, the decision states rather definitively, is yes — at least in immigration cases involving removals under the Alien Enemies Act.

In an eight-page unsigned decision, with only Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting, the court firmly rejected how the administration has been using the Alien Enemies Act to quickly remove Venezuelan and Salvadoran immigrants with little to no due process while also effectively calling the administration liars, in so many words.

The Supreme Court Is Officially Sick Of Donald Trump’s B.S.
A recent decision by the court shows just how done it is with the Trump administration’s failure to obey its orders in Alien Enemies Act cases.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-supreme-court-alien-enemies_n_682b736ce4b0dc52ee2bfd8b