Latin American Lowdown

Please note that summaries of stories have been added below dated April 21 and April 22 on the death of Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope.  “Texas Judge Rules Use of Alien Enemies Act for Deportees is Illegal,” New York Times, May 2, 2025   A federal judge appointed by President Trump permanently barred his administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport from the southern district of Texas Venezuelans it had deemed to be criminals. The May 1 ruling said the administration’s use of the statute was illegal. The decision by Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., “was the most expansive ruling yet by any of the numerous jurists who are currently hearing challenges to the White House’s efforts to employ the powerful but rarely invoked law as part of its wide-ranging deportation plans,” reported Alan Feuer, Mattathias Schwarz and Charlie Savage of the Times. The Supreme Court previously ruled that any Venezuelan the Trump administration wants to expel under the Act must f...