Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are fighting to bring back about 140 Venezuelan migrants who were deported to El Salvador under a controversial and rarely used law from the 18th century. The law, known as the Alien Enemies Act, was recently revived by the Trump administration as part of its strict immigration policies.
These deportations have sparked a wave of lawsuits across the United States. In recent weeks, federal judges in five states have issued temporary orders halting further removals under this law. However, the deportations that already happened—especially those to a high-security prison in El Salvador—remain a pressing concern.
On Friday, the ACLU updated a lawsuit originally filed in March, not just to stop future deportations but to demand that the U.S. government help bring these migrants back. The group argues that these men were denied a fair chance to challenge their removal and were sent to a foreign prison under questionable legal grounds.
The Alien Enemies Act allows the government to detain or deport citizens of hostile nations during times of declared war. The Trump administration claimed that members of a Venezuelan gang posed a threat and that their deportation was legal under this act. But critics, including judges, have strongly disagreed.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in New York said the administration had twisted the law’s purpose and was using it in a way that ignored human rights. He questioned the legality of deporting people to a foreign prison where they may face cruel treatment, saying, “The law does not authorize that.”
Another federal judge in Denver ruled that the Trump administration had wrongly expanded the meaning of “war” and “invasion” to justify the deportations, making the Alien Enemies Act an improper tool for this situation.
So far, the Supreme Court has ruled only on the procedure—saying that migrants must be warned in advance if the government plans to deport them under the act. But the court has not decided whether using the law this way is valid at all.
The ACLU is now using two recent Supreme Court decisions to argue that the deported Venezuelans deserve a legal way to challenge their detention and that U.S. officials must actively work to free them. One of those cases involved Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man deported to El Salvador in violation of a court order. The Supreme Court ordered officials to help free him, but he remains in custody.
Lawyers argue that Judge James Boasberg in Washington has the authority to hear their updated case, even though the migrants are held overseas, because Washington is the proper venue for such international detention matters.
While legal challenges are ongoing, the ACLU admits it could still be tough to force the administration to bring the men home—especially since some, like Abrego Garcia, remain jailed despite clear court rulings.