Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Trump’s Deportation of Venezuelan Migrants

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that President Donald Trump unlawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. In a 2-1 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from removing a group of Venezuelans under the seldom-used 18th-century law.

This ruling marks the first time a federal appellate court has weighed Trump’s use of the 1798 law to expedite deportations. The majority opinion, written by Judge Leslie Southwick, rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, had engaged in a “predatory incursion” on U.S. soil.

The Alien Enemies Act grants the government expansive powers to detain and deport citizens of hostile foreign nations, but only during wartime or when facing an invasion. Southwick noted, “We conclude that the findings do not support that an invasion or a predatory incursion has occurred.”

Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, who represents the Venezuelan detainees in Texas, expressed relief over the ruling. Gelernt stated, “The Trump administration’s use of a wartime statute during peacetime to regulate immigration was rightly shut down by the court.”

The legal battle began earlier this year when Trump proclaimed his intention to use the law for swift detentions, targeting alleged members of Tren de Aragua, which he designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Trump claimed the gang had unlawfully infiltrated the United States.

Judge Andrew Oldham, a Trump appointee, dissented. He argued that courts should defer to the president in immigration matters and stated that the ruling forced Trump to adhere to a stricter standard than in past administrations. “Today the majority holds that President Trump is just an ordinary civil litigant,” Oldham wrote.

This case is expected to reach the Supreme Court, which has previously ruled that challenges to deportations under the Alien Enemies Act must be filed in the same federal district where detainees are held. The court’s involvement could further clarify the use of this law in the context of immigration.