Trump Slams Judges Over Block on Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Alleged Venezuelan Gang Members

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at federal judges following a court ruling that barred his administration from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump expressed outrage over the decision, warning that it posed a serious threat to the safety and future of the United States.

“Can it be so that Judges aren’t allowing the USA to Deport Criminals, including Murderers, out of our Country and back to where they came from?” Trump wrote.

“If this is so, our Country, as we know it, is finished! Americans will have to get used to a very different, crime filled, LIFE. This is not what our Founders had in mind!!!”

The former president’s reaction came less than 48 hours after U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, ruled that the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act cannot be used to rapidly deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan gang.

In his Thursday ruling, Rodriguez clarified that the AEA is applicable only in cases where an “organized, armed force” is invading the U.S., and not in the context of criminal gangs.

The decision effectively extends a block on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport alleged gang members to detention facilities in El Salvador.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the U.S. judiciary over rulings that hinder his hardline immigration agenda. In April, he accused American courts of obstructing his efforts during a speech following the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome.

In recent weeks, multiple federal judges have either blocked or limited executive actions from Trump related to immigration and deportations, intensifying a legal tug-of-war over the scope of presidential authority on border enforcement.