Federal judge rules Trump administration must give Venezuelan migrants in Colorado 21-day notice before deportations

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - A federal judge in the US state of Colorado ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration must give detained Venezuelan migrants n that state three weeks' notice before they are deported.

Judge Charlotte Sweeney with the US District Court for the District of Colorado ruled that the government "shall provide a twenty-one (21) day notice to individuals detained" and migrants must be told about their rights to due process in a language they understand.

Such notice must state the government intends to remove individuals pursuant to the (Alien Enemies Act)," Sweeney said in her ruling. "It must also provide notice of a right to seek judicial review, and inform individuals they may consult an attorney regarding their detainment and the government's intent to remove them."

President Donald Trump designated the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua a Foreign Terrorist Organization in a proclamation March 14. The following day, the Justice Department invoked the rarely-used Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of alleged Venezuelan and Salvadoran gang members to a prison in El Salvador without giving them due process.

Sweeney's ruling referenced the Supreme Court's order that migrants being deported using the Alien Enemies Act "must receive notice (and) the notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs."

The judge also ruled in her temporary restraining order that the Trump administration cannot transfer detained migrants to facilities outside the state of Colorado.