The ACLU Has Filed for a Preliminary Injunction in the Alien Enemies Act Case

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Allison Gill

Last night, the plaintiffs in the Alien Enemies Act case filed their motion for a preliminary injunction after Judge Boasberg renewed the Temporary Restraining Orders he issued March 15th when he ordered the planes back to the United States. Extending the Temporary Restraining Orders gives the plaintiffs time to get a more permanent (and appealable) preliminary injunction. This is separate from Judge Boasberg’s efforts to determine whether the Trump regime is in contempt of court for defying his orders. The contempt issue will be fully briefed March 31st.

Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction was due March 28th. Trump’s response is due April 1st, and the plaintiffs’ reply is due April 4th. Boasberg has scheduled a hearing on the preliminary injunction for April 8th.

The plaintiff’s 53-page motion for a preliminary injunction comes with 19 exhibits - declarations from immigration attorneys, detainees, and family members. All evidence showing that the Trump administration provided zero due process to the deportees.

Starting with the summary in the motion for a preliminary injunction:

The unprecedented Proclamation at the heart of this case is unlawful because the Alien Enemies Act is a wartime measure that cannot be used where, as here, there is neither an “invasion or predatory incursion” nor such an act perpetrated by a “foreign nation or government.” And even if it could be used against a non-military criminal “gang” during peacetime, targeted individuals must be provided with a meaningful chance to contest that they fall within the Proclamation’s scope. That is particularly so given the increasing number of class members who dispute the government’s allegations of gang affiliation. For these and other reasons, Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits. The remaining factors also decidedly tip in Plaintiffs’ favor. In the absence of an injunction, the government will be free to send hundreds more individuals, without notice, to the notorious Salvadoran prison where they may be held incommunicado for the rest of their lives. The government will suffer no comparable harm given that this Court has not prohibited it from prosecuting anyone who commits a criminal offense, detaining anyone under the Act or other authority, or removing anyone under the immigration laws, and the government has already conceded that some form of judicial review is appropriate. A preliminary injunction is warranted to preserve the status quo.

https://www.muellershewrote.com/p/the-aclu-has-filed-for-a-preliminary

[MichMan]

1. Here is what I think will happen

They are likely to get an injunction. Even, so I don't think it will prevent too many deportations; might delay a few

The ending of Temporary Protected Staus and the CHNV Parole program has already been established to be at the end of April. Anyone in either of those will be scheduled for deportation. If people from either of those categories are covered by the AEA injunction, they will likely just be detained for a month and then deported anyway. By definition, neither of those programs by law provides any path to permanent residency, so due process doesn't apply, unless an application for asylum is granted pending a hearing

Anyone who has previously applied for asylum and been denied (like most cases are) are by current law, required to be deported. Not sure what is required for people with current Student Visas. For sure anyone with an expired Visa, or is no longer a student, will be deported, but not sure what the revocation process is for the others.