A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled against President Trump’s use of an 18th century wartime law to rapidly deport Venezuelan migrants, finding “no invasion or predatory incursion.”
The Trump administration deported hundreds of accused Tren de Aragua gang members earlier this year using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law that allows the president to remove citizens of an enemy country during an “invasion or predatory incursion.” Some migrants were later flown to a supermax prison in El Salvador, while others were sent to Venezuela in a July prisoner swap.
The strategy has faced multiple court challenges, with arguments that the U.S. isn’t under invasion and that migrants are denied sufficient due process. A “60 Minutes” investigation found many deported migrants had no criminal records.
Tuesday’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit marked the latest rejection of the administration’s approach. The three-judge panel, with one dissent, said the situation with Tren de Aragua does not meet the definition of “invasion” or “predatory incursion.”
The administration argued that Tren de Aragua’s “mass illegal migration” amounted to an incursion, but the court rejected that claim.
“A country’s encouraging its residents and citizens to enter this country illegally is not the modern-day equivalent of sending an armed, organized force to occupy, to disrupt, or to otherwise harm the United States,” the court said. “There is no finding that this mass immigration was an armed, organized force or forces.”
The judges granted a preliminary injunction blocking use of the Alien Enemies Act to remove migrants who sued in the Northern District of Texas. They noted the government may still deport them under other legal authorities.
The ruling is the latest turn in a case that has moved through multiple courts, reaching the Supreme Court earlier this year. Migrants detained in Texas brought the case, initially losing in district court. The Fifth Circuit dismissed their appeal, but the Supreme Court temporarily blocked their removal in April and later said the appeals court was wrong to dismiss the case.
The high court also found the government gave insufficient notice of deportations, with migrants receiving only 24 hours’ warning. Officials later extended notice to seven days. The Fifth Circuit said that likely met due process standards but sent the issue back to the district court for review.
Judge Leslie Southwick, a George W. Bush nominee, wrote the ruling. Biden-nominated Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez agreed with rejecting the “invasion” argument but said seven days’ notice was insufficient. Trump-nominated Judge Andrew Oldham dissented, writing that courts had never second-guessed a president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act until Trump’s second term.
