On Wednesday, the Council secured a critical legal victory by blocking the Trump administration from deporting its client, a Venezuelan asylum seeker identified as Y.A.P.A. for his safety. ICE has baselessly claimed he is affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang, despite providing no evidence and the fact that Y.A.P.A. has no criminal record.
Y.A.P.A. has been detained since February, living in constant fear of being disappeared to El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison, CECOT. The American Immigration Council and the ACLU filed a habeas petition in late April to stop his transfer—arguing that the government could not send him away without giving him a meaningful chance to appear before a judge and respond to the allegations against him.
In granting the petition, the judge made clear that constitutional rights “do not belong solely to those who may be subjectively determined to be great Americans.” These protections, the judge wrote, are part of what “has made, and will continue to make, America great”—and it is the court’s duty to uphold them “without fear or favor.” Wednesday’s ruling affirms that Y.A.P.A. cannot be deported without due process.
Read more: Challenging Disappearance under the Alien Enemies Act Without Due Process
