Colorado Federal District Court Issues Additional Alien Enemies Act Ruling Against Trump

A prison guard transfers Alien Enemies Act deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Mar. 16, 2025 (El Salvador Presidential Press Office)

 

Earlier today, federal District Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the District of Colorado issued a ruling against the Trump Administration in an Alien Enemies Act (AEA) case. Trump has been trying to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as a tool for deporting Venezuelan migrants with virtually no due process. But the Act can only be used to detain and deport immigrants in the event of a declared war, or an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" perpetrated by a "foreign nation or government." In today's decision, Judge Sweeney built on her own earlier ruling imposing a temporary restraining order (TRO) against AEA deportations in her district, and also a recent AEA ruling by a federal district court in Texas. Her new decision replaces the TRO with a longer-lasting preliminary injunction.