Judge halts deportation of Venezuelan migrant, ruling Trump administration must offer notice and due process.

Federal Court Issues Injunction Against Removal Without Process

A federal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from deporting a Venezuelan migrant under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), citing a lack of proper notice and due process. The ruling pauses removals under President Donald Trump’s executive order until the court further determines what legal protections must be afforded to those affected.

U.S. District Judge John Holcomb, appointed by Trump, emphasized in his ruling that migrants facing deportation under the AEA must be given the opportunity to challenge their removal. “The Government is hereby preliminarily ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from removing or transferring out of this district any member of the putative class,” Holcomb wrote, pending further guidance on the required notice and legal process.

The case centers around Darwin Antonio Arevalo Millan, a Venezuelan national detained at the ICE facility in Adelanto, California. Arevalo, who says he is a vocal critic of the Venezuelan regime, was legally authorized to live and work in the United States while awaiting the outcome of his asylum application.

According to the lawsuit, Arevalo was arrested after appearing for a scheduled check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The arrest was allegedly linked to tattoos that ICE agents claimed connected him to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, a charge Arevalo disputes. His legal team asserts that such profiling is discriminatory and unsupported by substantive evidence.

Filed as a class-action complaint, the case represents not only Arevalo but also other Venezuelan migrants subject to Trump’s proclamation invoking the AEA. The suit calls for the government to provide at least 30 days' notice before proceeding with any deportations or transfers, to allow migrants time to challenge their removal in court.

In a partial victory for the Trump administration, Judge Holcomb acknowledged that the president has “unlimited” authority under the Alien Enemies Act, which has been separately challenged in court. Despite that broad executive power, the court found that procedural rights must still be respected before deportations occur.

The injunction comes on the heels of a separate win for the administration. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling that had blocked the deportation of approximately 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. That stay allows the administration to continue plans to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for certain individuals.

The TPS program permits eligible migrants to reside and work in the U.S. temporarily if their home country is deemed unsafe due to war, disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. It had been extended under the previous administration but is now being rolled back under the leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who in February moved to rescind protections for a subset of Venezuelan nationals.

As legal challenges continue, Monday’s injunction marks a significant development in the interpretation and enforcement of the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime statute dating back to 1798. The court’s next decision will address the minimum procedural safeguards required before individuals can be lawfully deported under the law.