Appeals court rules Trump can’t use Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport Venezuelans

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A federal appeals court late Tuesday ruled President Trump can’t invoke a wartime law to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, a key legal tool the administration has used to implement its immigration crackdown.

Trump first invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act in March to remove Venezuelans the administration accuses of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Tuesday’s ruling blocks Trump from using the law against migrants detained in northern parts of Texas, and the battle could now return to the Supreme Court.

The divided 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found no “invasion” or “predatory incursion” by a foreign nation, the required criteria for the president to summarily deport migrants under the rarely used statute.

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The Supreme Court quickly stepped in to temporarily block the deportations as the 5th Circuit considered the case. With the panel’s ruling now in hand, the administration could bring the case back to the justices or first ask the full 5th Circuit — regarded as the nation’s most conservative federal appeals court — to reconsider.

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