A federal judge in Nevada has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from immediately deporting a Venezuelan man that the administration had claimed was a violent gang member.

Adrian Arturo Viloria Aviles, a 29-year-old citizen of Venezuela, was detained in February during a vehicle stop in Kearns, Utah, by immigration enforcement officials, who identified him as a member of the Tren de Aragua street gang. Viloria Aviles, who denies he is a gang member and is seeking asylum, was then transferred to a detention facility in Nevada. 

On April 3, attorneys representing him filed a petition in federal court that stated he was being moved to a different facility in New Mexico and was on track for a rapid deportation to El Salvador, despite his ongoing proceedings in Las Vegas Immigration Court.

To justify the deportation, the Trump administration has invoked the rarely used Alien Enemies Act, a broad wartime power that allows for the swift deportation of citizens of an invading nation — as part of an effort to rapidly deport hundreds of alleged gang members in the U.S.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro ruled to temporarily block Viloria Aviles’ deportation, after a request from Viloria Aviles’ lawyers, who include members of the UNLV Immigration Clinic and American Civil Liberties Union. They contend that use of the Alien Enemies Act is unlawful and undermines his right to seek asylum. 

A reply brief from the U.S. attorney’s office was sealed, but according to Navarro’s written order published Thursday, the government says that it is not currently planning to deport Viloria Aviles under the Alien Enemies Act. However, the court said in a Thursday order that the government “cannot explain” why Viloria Aviles has been moved to a detention facility in Texas — where the government has previously deported individuals under the Alien Enemies Act.

The temporary block will push Viloria-Aviles' asylum hearing until June 20.

“The reason we filed a case in federal court is simply to demand, or ask a court to insist, that he be allowed to apply for asylum through a fair and normal process,” said Michael Kagan, one of his lawyers. 

Viloria Aviles is one of many immigrants who have been apprehended in recent weeks for being an alleged member of Tren de Aragua. Use of that law has been challenged in court for violating migrants’ due process rights and as unlawful given that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Venezuelan migrants can be deported under that law, but that they must get a court hearing first. 

Kagan — who heads the UNLV Immigration Clinic — said that the government has continued to skirt that ruling by relocating individuals to different facilities and giving judges less than 24 hours’ notice before proceeding with a deportation, which gives little time to prepare.  

According to court filings, just a few days before his scheduled hearing for asylum and bond, Viloria Aviles was transferred from the Nevada Southern Detention Center to a facility in New Mexico and then shortly after, to another facility in Texas — effectively canceling a bond hearing that was scheduled to take place at the Las Vegas Immigration Court. 

Kagan and other attorneys petitioned for the temporary block shortly after Viloria Aviles’ relocations. 

“They provide[d] no explanation,” Kagan said about the transfers. “They insist on being able to do it with no oversight whatsoever.” 

Kagan said that the likely basis for Viloria Aviles’ arrest were his several tattoos, including one of a dragon and a bird, which immigration officials have (often mistakenly) been using to identify Tren de Aragua members. But Kagan said even that remains unclear, with the federal government yet to provide any explanation behind the rationale for him being in a gang. 

An official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document from February included in the petition states that Viloria Aviles “has been identified as a Member/Active of Tren de Aragua” although it does not explain how DHS officials reached that conclusion. The same document notes that Viloria-Aviles has no known criminal history “at this time,” but calls him a “Deportable/Excludable Alien.” 

Viloria Aviles denies gang membership. But even if he was part of one, he would still retain the right to have a court hearing and to apply for asylum under federal law. Like many other Venezulans, attorneys for Viloria Aviles say he came to the United States in search of asylum from the Maduro authoritarian regime and faces the risk of death and torture if deported — which would violate sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act, according to the suit. 

In recent weeks, federal judges in Texas and Colorado have also ruled to put temporary holds on deportations of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act. 

“I'm not going to make predictions,” Kagan said. “But we are hopeful that the court will proceed as other courts around the country have, to protect people from being deported to potential danger with no due process.”  

Updated at 1:40 p.m on April 17, 2025 to include justification of the temporary block from a Thursday U.S. District Court order.