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In a legal filing earlier in the day, lawyers for the men said
the detainees “fit the profile of those the administration has
prioritized for detention in Guantanamo, i.e. Venezuelan men
detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections
with the Tren de Aragua gang.”
It asked a U.S. District Court in New Mexico for a temporary
restraining order blocking their transfer, adding that “the mere
uncertainty the government has created surrounding the
availability of legal process and counsel access is sufficient
to authorize the modest injunction.”
During a brief hearing, Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales granted the
temporary order, which was opposed by the government, said
Jessica Vosburgh, an attorney for the three men.
“It's short term. This will get revisited and further fleshed
out in the weeks to come,” Vosburgh told The Associated Press.
A message seeking comment was left for U.S. Customs and
Immigration Enforcement.
The filing came as part of a lawsuit on behalf of the three men
filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American
Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, and Las Americas Immigrant
Advisory Center.
The Tren de Aragua gang originated in a lawless prison in the
central Venezuelan state of Aragua more than a decade ago and
has expanded in recent years as millions of desperate
Venezuelans fled President President Nicolás Maduro 's rule and
migrated to other parts of Latin America or the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said last week that
flights of detainees had landed at Guantanamo. Immigrant rights
groups sent a letter Friday demanding access to people who have
been sent there, saying the base should not be used as a “legal
black hole.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that
more than 8,000 people have been arrested in immigration
enforcement actions since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Trump has vowed to deport millions of the estimated 11.7 million
people in the U.S. illegally.
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