Obama-appointed judge orders deportation flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gangbangers to return to U.S., blocks Trump from invoking Alien Enemies Act | 15 March 2025 | A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump on Saturday from invoking the eighteenth-century Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without a hearing -- ordering any flights carrying the supposed criminals to turn around. U.S. District judge James Boasberg [appointed by Barack Obama] quickly ordered the Trump administration to halt all removals after the commander in chief signed off on a presidential action invoking the 1798 law -- aimed at targeting Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, The Washington Post reported. The chief judge in the District of Columbia said he heard that "flights are actively departing" and directed U.S. officials to have planes in the air carrying migrants returned to the United States, the outlet reported.