A Venezuelan couple detained in El Paso for nine days was released Friday night, after a federal judge ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had failed to prove they are “alien enemies” or members of the Tren de Aragua gang. In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge David Briones of El Paso said the government “has not demonstrated they have any lawful basis to continue detaining” the couple who have been held at El Paso Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center as alien enemies since April 16. Briones also barred the government from removing any other people it is holding as enemy aliens in the Western District of Texas, which stretches from El Paso to San Antonio. He said anyone facing that designation must be given 21 days written notice of their right to judicial review of an attempt to remove them, and the notice must be in a language they can understand. “They have gone through four different judges, none of whom thought they should be detained. They have deep ties to their community in the United States. They have three minor children. They’ve been living peacefully in our country since 2022,” Benoit said.
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