A federal judge in California has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's deportation of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act, echoing last week's Supreme Court ruling rejecting the government's appeal to quickly resume the deportations under the use of the 18th-century wartime legislation.
Monday's ruling, by Judge John Holcomb, a U.S. district judge for the Central District of California who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2020, covers all noncitizens being held in the district who are or will be subject to Trump's proclamation. The law would be used to deport members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang as invaders.
The temporary order, in place until May 30, comes in connection with a complaint filed by Darwin Antonio Arevalo Millan, a Venezuelan citizen who is being held at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement annex at the Desert View Modified Community Correctional facility in Adelanto, California.
Arevalo states in his suit he is a "vocal dissident" of the Venezuelan government who has applied for asylum in the United States and was given a permit that authorized him to work and live in the country pending his asylum review.
He was arrested and detained at the Desert View center while he reported for a scheduled ICE check-in, and according to his lawsuit did not have a prior notice of the arrest nor was he served with a warrant.
"But Arevalo was informed, presumably by someone associated with the government, that his arrest was premised upon his status as a Venezuelan with tattoos, which, although allegedly basketball-related, could indicate that Arevalo is affiliated with Tren de Aragua," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit names Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, ICE Processing Center and Desert View Annex Warden Fereti Semaia, and David Marin, the director of the Los Angeles ICE field office.
Arevalo's complaint, filed on behalf of himself and other Venezuelan citizens subjected to Trump's proclamation, calls on the court to prevent the government from removing him or others in the class, to be transferred out of their current district; to require the government to provide at least 30 days notice before any removal or transfer; and to provide his counsel with notice of a transfer and to preserve all property and evidence in the case.
The temporary order requires that Arevalo's counsel serve his petition to the government no later than Wednesday at 5 p.m., giving the government until noon May 27 to respond. Arevalo's counsel has until noon May 29 to file replies, with the hearing on the applications scheduled for 8 a.m. local time May 30.
The Supreme Court's ruling also concerned an emergency appeal from attorneys representing Venezuelan men accused of being gang members, which the administration says allows them to be removed from the country rapidly under the Alien Enemies Act.
The court had already enforced a temporary halt to deportations of Venezuelan detainees from a north Texas detention facility ordered in April.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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