A US appeals court has upheld a lower court's decision to temporarily halt President Donald Trump's administration's plan to deport some categories of Venezuelan immigrants under a rarely used 18th century law, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A three-judge panel voted two to one to uphold U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's decision to block the deportation of Latinos under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The dissenting judge on the three-judge panel was Appellate Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee.
On March 15, Trump activated the plan to expedite the deportation of alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal gang "Tren de Aragua". To do so, he invoked the Aliens from Enemy Countries Act of 1798, which is best known for targeting Japanese, Italian, and German immigrants to the United States during World War II.
The same day, Boasberg temporarily halted the measure after it was previously challenged in court by the non-governmental organization "American Civil Liberties Union". But the "Trump" administration allowed two planes carrying people scheduled for deportation that had already departed to continue to El Salvador, where 238 Venezuelans handed over by the US to local authorities were placed in a Salvadoran prison called the "Terrorist Detention Center".
The decision by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a defeat for the Republican president, who said the temporary two-week moratorium on the plan was illegal because it represented an encroachment by the judiciary into the powers and competences of the executive branch. According to the White House, the issue concerns national security, which is a matter for the government alone to decide.
Earlier today, US Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noam arrived in the Salvadoran capital to visit the mega-prison where Venezuelans deported by Washington are being held.
Noam, a strong supporter of Trump's tough immigration measures, was also scheduled to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.