Court Rejects Request for Anonymous Class Representatives in Tren de Aragua Case

In the en banc decision for W.M.M. v. Trump, Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod addressed motions to introduce five new class representatives on appeal and to allow them to proceed anonymously. Although the government consented to the filings, the court reiterated that consent does not replace its independent balancing of public and private interests. Applying the established three-factor anonymity test, the panel found the plaintiffs’ challenges to governmental action insufficient to merit secrecy, noting that most of the proposed representatives had not demonstrated that revealing their identities would expose intimate information or expose them to criminal prosecution.

Their fears of possible violence in Venezuela were considered speculative and lacking concrete threats. Consequently, the motions were denied without prejudice, leaving open the possibility of future district-court rulings on the matter.