Federal judge in New York will consider blocking future deportations under Alien Enemies Act

Federal judge in New York will consider blocking future deportations under Alien Enemies Act
Federal judge in New York will consider blocking future deportations under Alien Enemies Act
Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, in San Vicente, El Salvador/ Alex Pena/Anadolu via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Less than 48 hours after the Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport noncitizens with little-to-no due process, a federal judge in New York judge on Wednesday will consider blocking any future removals as the Trump administration allegedly prepares to commence more deportations.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein set a hearing Wednesday to consider issuing an emergency order to block the removals of two Venezuelan men targeted for deportation, as well as potentially bar any deportations of detained noncitizens under the Alien Enemies Act.

The Trump administration last month invoked the AEA to deport more than 200 alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.

In a brief filed Tuesday in New York, ACLU lawyers representing two migrants wrote that government officials “seek to move Petitioners in secret, without due process, to a prison in El Salvador known for dire conditions, torture, and other forms of physical abuse — possibly for life.”

“This has already borne out for over 130 individuals on March 15 who have lost all contact with their attorneys, family, and the world,” the attorneys wrote.

While the Supreme Court on Monday suggested that future litigation would play out in a Texas federal courtroom, the lawyers for the men brought a habeas case in New York because both are currently in custody in Orange County, New York, after their deportations were blocked last month by a judge in Washington D.C.

According to lawyers with the ACLU, one of the men is a 21-year-old Venezuelan national who entered the United States in 2024 to seek asylum, fleeing threats from Tren de Aragua and potential persecution from the Maduro regime based on his sexual orientation.

The other plaintiff is a 32-year-old Venezuelan national who filed an asylum application after entering the United States in 2022, claiming he feared torture and imprisonment based on his protests of the Maduro regime.

Judge Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee, on Tuesday ordered that the two men should not be removed from New York “unless and until the Court orders otherwise,” and the ACLU is seeking to get a temporary restraining order that potentially covers any noncitizen in immigration custody who is at risk of deportation under the Alien Enemies Act.

They have argued that the law was improperly invoked by the Trump to target a criminal organization — not a state actor — and that it was invoked outside of a war or an invasion.

“The AEA has only ever been a power invoked in time of war, and plainly only applies to warlike actions: it cannot be used here against nationals of a country — Venezuela — with whom the United States is not at war, which is not invading the United States, and which has not launched a predatory incursion into the United States,” the lawyers argued.

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Army to go ‘bigger’ to mark its 250th. Could it be the military parade Trump wants?

Army to go ‘bigger’ to mark its 250th. Could it be the military parade Trump wants?
Army to go ‘bigger’ to mark its 250th. Could it be the military parade Trump wants?
Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Army says it’s looking at options to make its 250th birthday celebration in June “bigger,” with possible demonstrations and vehicle displays on the National Mall in a multi-day event that could also include a military parade, although officials say no decisions have been made.

The Army celebration, which has been in the works for several months, has fueled speculation that President Donald Trump will try to turn the event into the kind of grand military parade he wanted in his first administration. Trump shares a birthday with the Army on June 14.

ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.

D.C. city officials told reporters this week they had been approached about a parade route from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, into Washington. Two other U.S. officials confirmed a military parade was under discussion, although it was unclear how big the parade would be.

“Military tanks on our streets would not be good. If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Heather Hagan, a U.S. Army spokeswoman, said Tuesday that a decision on the parade was “pre-decisional.” She noted that the Army is planning to celebrate its milestone birthday with “multiple events” leading up to June 14, including a festival on the National Mall.

“We intend to have a national level celebration to increase pride in America and America’s Army,” she wrote in a statement. “Given the significant milestone of 250 years, the Army is exploring options to make the celebration bigger, with more capability demonstrations, static displays of equipment, and more engagement with the community.”

Trump’s 2018 vision for a parade included vintage aircraft and fighter jets swooping over the streets of Washington with heavy tanks below. But the event never materialized as city officials pushed back and cost estimates topped tens of millions of dollars.

If a parade were to take place, it would significantly impact the city’s infrastructure, according to city officials. Bowser said the 14th Street Bridge would need to be tested before the event.

The iconic bridge has undergone several significant repairs and maintenance in recent decades, most notably after the 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 crash.

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Trump tariffs: How much more importers could pay in your state

Trump tariffs: How much more importers could pay in your state
Trump tariffs: How much more importers could pay in your state
ABC News

(LOS ANGELES) — California importers could be hit hardest by the new import tariffs — potentially paying over $170 billion more for imports than they did last year, according to newly released data by trade economists.

Texas importers rank second, with an estimated $82 billion increase. Altogether, the United States could pay over $712 billion more in import tariffs this year compared to 2024.

At 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, President Donald Trump is set to impose individualized reciprocal higher tariffs on the countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits.

All other countries will continue to be subject to the original 10% tariff baseline.

During remarks Tuesday, Trump claimed his newly announced tariffs would bring in billions per day. “We’re taking in almost $2 billion a day in tariffs,” said Trump. “These are tailored — highly tailored deals.”

While the lasting economic impact of Trump’s sweeping tariffs stands to be seen, Trade Partnership Worldwide, a group of economists and trade policy consultants, has released data on how much importers could pay in each state for 2025.

These payment increase predictions are based on 2024 import data for each state, according to Trade Partnership Worldwide.

The predictions reflect how much more importers would pay in tariffs by state this year if demand remained identical to 2024 — indicating which states could end up paying the most under the new tariff policy.

“As a disclaimer, we do not foresee demand for imports remaining the same as 2024 due to the tariffs,” said Daniel Anthony, president of Trade Partnership Worldwide. “But this gives us a good indicator of the size, scope and impact these tariffs could have on each state.”

Michigan importers could see over $27 billion in tariff payments for 2025, according to the data. About 20% of all U.S. auto production occurred in Michigan in 2023, according to the Detroit Regional Chamber.

The group’s predictive analysis applies all of the new tariffs Trump announced last week to the number of goods Americans imported last year.

Those tariffs include the president’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act actions on Canada, Mexico, China and Hong Kong and additional tariffs on steel, aluminum, derivative products and auto parts.

For the moment, their prediction does not include the additional tariff on Chinese imports the president may implement on Wednesday.

This prediction excluded products covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in accordance with the new tariffs.

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Lawyer for man deported in error to El Salvador expects him to be returned to US

Lawyer for man deported in error to El Salvador expects him to be returned to US
Lawyer for man deported in error to El Salvador expects him to be returned to US
The Washington Post via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The attorney for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was deported in error to El Salvador, said Tuesday that he expects Abrego Garcia to be returned to the U.S.

Abrego Garcia — despite having protected legal status preventing his deportation to El Salvador, where he escaped political violence in 2011 — was sent to that country’s notorious CECOT mega-prison following what the government said was an “administrative error.”

Trump administration officials have said Abrego Garcia is a member of the criminal gang MS-13, but his attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg has disputed that, saying the government has provided no proof of their allegations.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia from El Salvador by Monday at midnight, before Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday issued a temporary administrative stay delaying the midnight deadline in order to give the court more time to consider the arguments presented by both sides.

“[The order] just means that he recognized that the Supreme Court needs a little bit of time to do its work,” Sandoval-Moshenberg told ABC News. “I have every expectation that the Supreme Court will rule quickly and will rule in our favor, because when push comes to shove, this is not an exceptional case. The only exceptional thing has been the way in which the government has dug in its heels on making right what they messed up.”

“Jennifer is really worried,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said of Abrego Garcia’s wife. “She expects and I expect that we are going to get him back.”

In the filing earlier Monday, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that a federal court cannot order a president to engage in foreign diplomacy, which he says is implicitly involved in any potential return of Abrego Garcia.

“The Constitution charges the President, not federal district courts, with the conduct of foreign diplomacy and protecting the Nation against foreign terrorists, including by effectuating their removal,” Sauer wrote. “And this order sets the United States up for failure. The United States cannot guarantee success in sensitive international negotiations in advance, least of all when a court imposes an absurdly compressed, mandatory deadline that vastly complicates the give-and-take of foreign-relations negotiations.”

Sandoval-Moshenberg, however, said that the government has not provided evidence that it would be impossible to return his client.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in this whole country that doesn’t recognize the glaring truth, which is that if we picked up the phone and just asked, he’d be on a plane in a day or two,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said.

Referring to the agreement El Salvador signed with the Trump administration to house migrant detainees, Sandoval-Moshenberg said, “El Salvador is doing all of this because we’re paying them $6 million to do it, and we have an agreement with them.”

“The U.S. government is acting as if the Salvadoran government chose, for Salvador and legal reasons, to arrest him and incarcerate him,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “That couldn’t be farther from the case.”

Sandoval-Moshenberg called Abrego Garcia’s arrest by U.S. authorities a “targeted action.”

“They went out, they stopped his car, they pulled him over, they pulled him out of the car, and they arrested him,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “And he was actually with his 5-year-old child at the time, and they made him call his wife to come pick up the kid. This was a targeted action.”

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Judge gives Trump administration 24 hours to provide evidence of Mahmoud Khalil’s removability

Judge gives Trump administration 24 hours to provide evidence of Mahmoud Khalil’s removability
Judge gives Trump administration 24 hours to provide evidence of Mahmoud Khalil’s removability
Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images

(JENA, La.) — An immigration judge has given lawyers representing the Department of Homeland Security a little over 24 hours to provide Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team with evidence that he is removable from the U.S. under the allegations lobbed against him.

Khalil, legal permanent resident with a green card, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at his Columbia University housing in New York last month.

Khalil, a leader of the encampment protests at Columbia last spring, was detained on March 8, then taken to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, before ending up in a Louisiana detention center, his attorneys said.

At an immigration hearing in Jena, Louisiana, on Tuesday, Judge Jamee Comans set another hearing for Friday to give Khalil’s team time to review the evidence and respond to it.

Comans said she will then make a determination whether he is removable or order him to be released.

Khalil’s wife, who appeared via video feed at his hearing, is set to give birth within “a couple of weeks,” according to Khalil’s lawyer, Marc Van Der Hout.

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Johnson again relying on Trump to bring GOP holdouts in line on budget plan

Johnson again relying on Trump to bring GOP holdouts in line on budget plan
Johnson again relying on Trump to bring GOP holdouts in line on budget plan
Win McNamee, Pool via AFP via Getty Images, FILE

(WASHINGTON) — Speaker Mike Johnson met Tuesday at the White House with President Donald Trump and House Republicans holding out against voting for the Senate-approved budget bill to fund Trump’s agenda, according to a top GOP leadership aide.

GOP leaders are again relying on Trump to help get the bill across the finish line this week before the House takes a two-week recess.

Johnson has promised to pass the Senate’s amendment to the House budget blueprint, with a vote planned Wednesday. But like the first time the House passed the budget blueprint in February, Johnson has several public holdout votes to flip — and is counting on the president to deliver them.

Speaker Mike Johnson met Tuesday at the White House with President Donald Trump and House Republicans holding out against voting for the Senate-approved budget bill to fund Trump’s agenda, according to a top GOP leadership aide.

GOP leaders are again relying on Trump to help get the bill across the finish line this week before the House takes a two-week recess.

Johnson has promised to pass the Senate’s amendment to the House budget blueprint, with a vote planned Wednesday. But like the first time the House passed the budget blueprint in February, Johnson has several public holdout votes to flip — and is counting on the president to deliver them.

 

“I think we’ll be moving forward this week,” he said.

Asked before the meeting what his message to the holdouts was, Johnson said “We have to get the job done. The American people are counting on us, and we are optimistic we’ll move this ball forward.”

Several of the GOP holdouts are invited to meet with Trump, but Reps. Ralph Norman and Tim Burchett — two of the holdouts — told reporters that they weren’t invited to the meeting.

Another hard no vote, Rep. Chip Roy, told reporters that there are “enough” Republicans opposed to the measure to kill it. He said he asked senators to come to a meeting to explain the math on a whiteboard that shows how their plan would reduce the deficit, but “they can’t prove the math.”

Johnson can afford to h= three votes, but up to a dozen Republicans have signaled they’re not yet convinced to vote for it.

Passing this legislation through both chambers is required to kick off the process to craft the massive budget bill that includes much of Trump’s sweeping domestic agenda.

Johnson also told reporters that the White House will provide holdouts with “a combination of commitments and assurances and all the leaders in both chambers.”

Majority Leader Steve Scalise said, “The president’s been our best advocate and whip to get this agenda moved forward every step of the way. And this bill is no different. Failure is just not an option.”

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Lawyers of teen charged with murder in track meet stabbing release 1st statement

Lawyers of teen charged with murder in track meet stabbing release 1st statement
Lawyers of teen charged with murder in track meet stabbing release 1st statement
Frisco Police Department

(FRISCO, Texas) — The family of a 17-year-old student charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of another student at a high school track meet last week is “sincerely saddened” over the death, the teen’s attorneys said in their first public statement since the incident.

The incident occurred on April 2 at a Frisco Independent School District stadium during a track and field championship involving multiple schools in the district.

Austin Metcalf, 17, an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School, died after police said another student stabbed him during an altercation in the bleachers at the meet.

The suspect in the deadly stabbing — Karmelo Anthony, a student at Frisco Centennial High School — has been charged with first-degree murder, police said.

His family has retained Dallas-Fort Worth-area defense attorneys Billy Clark of the Clark Law Firm and Kim Cole of K Cole Law in the case, according to a joint press release from their firms.

“Karmelo and the entire Anthony family are sincerely saddened that a life was lost and offer their condolences to the family of Austin Metcalf,” the attorneys said in a statement on Monday.

“During this difficult time, we urge the public to refrain from rushing to judgment before all the facts and evidence are presented,” they continued. “Karmelo, like all citizens of the United States, is entitled to a fair and impartial legal process; we are committed to ensuring that Karmelo’s rights are indeed protected throughout each phase of the criminal justice system.”

Anthony is being held in the Collin County jail on $1 million bond.

The attorneys said they plan to work with the Collin County District Attorney’s Office to seek a reduced bond and a “better determination of the filed charge.”

“This will certainly be a long road ahead and during this challenging time, we ask for prayers for both families and we ask for your patience and respect for the legal process as we seek the truth,” the attorneys said.

In the wake of the incident, Anthony’s family has launched a fundraiser on the platform GiveSendGo, which as of early Tuesday afternoon has raised more than $236,000. The fundraising page did not detail how the funds will be used.

Anthony allegedly confessed to the killing and officers say he told them he was protecting himself, according to the arrest report.

One officer who responded to the scene said Anthony told him unprompted, without being asked any questions about the incident, “I was protecting myself,” according to the arrest report.

When the officer advised another responding officer that he had “the alleged suspect,” Anthony reportedly responded, “I’m not alleged, I did it,” according to the arrest report.

Anthony “made another spontaneous statement” and reportedly asked an officer if what happened “could be considered self-defense,” according to the arrest report.

The stabbing occurred under the Memorial High School tent in the stadium bleachers at approximately 10 a.m. on April 2, according to the arrest report.

Responding officers said they spoke to multiple witnesses, including one who reported that the altercation began after Metcalf told Anthony to move out from under their team’s tent, according to the arrest report.

The witness reported that Anthony allegedly reached inside his bag and said, “Touch me and see what happens,” according to the arrest report.

Metcalf grabbed Anthony to move him, according to a witness, and Anthony allegedly pulled out what the witness described as a black knife and “stabbed Austin once in the chest and then ran away,” the arrest report stated.

“Just doesn’t make any sense,” Metcalf’s mother, Meghan Metcalf, told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA in emotional remarks last week. “Just because the kid was mad, my son is not here anymore, and I don’t understand it.”

Frisco Police Chief David Shilson called the incident a “senseless act of violence” in a lengthy statement last week while offering his “deepest condolences to all the families involved especially the Metcalf family.”

He also warned that false information related to the stabbing was being circulated on social media and “to only trust information that comes from official releases and verified sources.”

Shilson said police are investigating a fake account created using his name that was “perpetuating misinformation” on the incident. Police said they are pursuing felony charges.

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Chicago man charged in connection to series of sexual crimes: Police

Chicago man charged in connection to series of sexual crimes: Police
Chicago man charged in connection to series of sexual crimes: Police
Chicago Police Department

(CHICAGO) — A Chicago man was charged in connection to a series of sex crimes targeting women at least five times over the past three years, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Chakib Mansour Khodja, a 36-year-old Jefferson Park resident, was charged with 16 felonies and two misdemeanors on Monday, including aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed, home invasion with a dangerous weapon and public indecency with lewd exposure, police said in a press release.

The earliest incident allegedly occurred on May 7, 2022, and the latest on Feb. 2, police said.

“This man was a violent, serial predator who literally went out hunting for his victims,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said during a press conference on Monday.

In February, Khodja allegedly “approached the female victims from behind (twice on the sidewalk and once in an apartment building hallway)” and sexually assaulted them, police said. In one of these instances, he was armed with a sharp object, police said.

“These women survived something that was horrible and terrible and it’s something that they will continue to live with throughout the rest of their days,” CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said.

Investigators used video surveillance and DNA evidence to connect Khodja to the crimes, police said.

The suspect was arrested on April 4 at O’Hare Airport, when he was coming back from out of town, police said.

Khodja made his first court appearance on Monday, officials said. He was held pending trial.

He was appointed a public defender, but the lawyer was not named in court records.

“Today, the city is safer. Today, every single woman in the city, every single man who has a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister should all be breathing a sigh of relief,” O’Neill said.

Snelling said officials are still determining if there are any additional victims of Khodja’s attacks.

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15-year-old arrested for fatally stabbing grandmother, injuring mother: Police

15-year-old arrested for fatally stabbing grandmother, injuring mother: Police
15-year-old arrested for fatally stabbing grandmother, injuring mother: Police
Newsday via Getty Images, FILE

(SELDEN, N.Y.) — A 15-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing his grandmother and injuring his mother in Selden, New York, according to police.

Vanessa Chendemi was allegedly stabbed by her son at about 9:45 p.m. Monday after which she ran out of her house and a passing motorist stopped to offer assistance, the Suffolk County Police Department said. Upon arriving at the scene, officers said they found 56-year-old Concetta Chendemi with stab wounds in the residence.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Vanessa Chendemi, 36, was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition, Suffolk County police said.

The suspect fled the scene after the stabbing, police said. He was later arrested at around 11:20 p.m.

The accused stabber — who has not been identified by police because he is a minor — has been charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

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Judge Boasberg cancels hearing on Trump deportations after Supreme Court ruling

Judge Boasberg cancels hearing on Trump deportations after Supreme Court ruling
Judge Boasberg cancels hearing on Trump deportations after Supreme Court ruling
Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, in El Salvador; Alex Pena/Anadolu via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has canceled a Tuesday afternoon hearing on the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged migrant gang members without due process, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday evening that the administration could resume carrying out such deportations.

Boasberg had scheduled the hearing to consider whether to convert the temporary restraining order he issued blocking those deportations last month into a longer-lasting preliminary injunction, as he mulled whether to hold the administration in contempt for failing to provide information about the deportation of over 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members last month.

Boasberg’s order canceling Tuesday’s hearing did not address where the contempt issue stands.

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision Monday evening, ruled that the Trump administration could resume deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act, but said detainees must be given due process to challenge their removal.

The unsigned opinion lifted Boasberg’s temporary restraining order, ruling that he lacked the jurisdiction to address the matter.

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, the ACLU — which is representing several alleged Venezuelan gang members who are set to be sent to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act — filed habeas petitions in the New York district where the men are being held, seeking to challenge their removal.

Trump last month invoked the Alien Enemies Act — a wartime authority used to deport noncitizens with little-to-no due process — by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.

Judge Boasberg temporarily blocked the president’s use of the law on March 15, ordering that the government turn around two flights carrying more than 200 alleged Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador.

Authorities failed to turn the flights around, leading the judge to threaten the administration with contempt.

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.

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