Washington, D.C. May 22, 2025 – In a May 21 decision, a federal district court in Georgia ordered the federal government to refrain from disappearing a Venezuelan man under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA).  

Judge Clay Land extended a block on transferring the Venezuelan man from the United States before he receives basic due process. The client, who is seeking asylum, is using the initials Y.A.P.A. for his own safety. The American Immigration Council is co-counsel in Y.A.P.A.’s case, alongside the ACLU.  

In his ruling, Judge Land wrote: 

“The public interest, while not always vocalized the loudest, requires that we remember that that these constitutional protections do not exist only for those attending lunch at the local Rotary Club, enjoying war stories at the VFW hall or having a beer at the Moose Club lodge. These rights are not rationed based upon political views, and they do not belong solely to those who may be subjectively determined to be great Americans. They extend to those whom many may consider to be the most repugnant among us. This foundational principle is part of what has made, and will continue to make, America great. Consistent with the rule of law, it is the Court’s job to make sure, without fear or favor, that we adhere to these principles. Doing so certainly serves the public interest." 

Y.A.P.A. lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, and since February 2025 has been detained in Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, a private prison with a well-known history of abuse and mistreatment of the people held there.  

The U.S. government has accused Y.A.P.A. -- with no evidence -- of being a member of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. This is even though government lawyers have admitted in court documents that they cannot "validate" this baseless accusation.  

“This ruling affirms that our client, like every person in the United States, has a fundamental right to due process and a fair day in court,” said Rebecca Cassler, senior litigation attorney at the American Immigration Council. “We have already seen appalling abuses take place under the Trump administration’s reckless invocation of the AEA, a law never before used without due process or in the absence of a declared war. Hundreds of people are currently languishing in CECOT, El Salvador’s notorious prison at the expense of U.S. taxpayers, without ever getting a chance to hear the accusations against them. Thanks to this ruling, for now there is one less person who has to live in fear of being whisked away to CECOT in the middle of the night and held there indefinitely on behalf of the United States.”  

The Trump administration has been accusing people from Venezuela of Tren de Aragua membership and disappearing them—without ever proving their membership—to El Salvador’s top security prison, invoking the AEA. While the Supreme Court has curtailed the federal government’s ability to rapidly transfer a group of people currently held in Texas under this law, there is still no nationwide block against using the AEA. This is the first decision in Georgia, where Y.A.P.A. is detained, barring the administration's application of the AEA without due process.  

“In its ruling, the court plainly stated something that is so fundamental to American identity that it should go without saying: the Constitution applies to everyone. If we can deport any person the administration alleges is a gang member without giving that person a right to challenge that allegation, then none of us are safe from governmental overreach,” said Jeremy Robbins, executive director at the American Immigration Council. 

Learn more about the case here.