A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a key move by the Trump administration, preventing the use of an 18th century wartime statute to remove a group of Venezuelan migrants from the United States.
The ruling marks a major legal obstacle for the administration, which had argued that the centuries-old law allowed it to bypass standard immigration procedures. Legal experts say the decision could set a precedent limiting the government’s ability to use historical statutes in modern immigration enforcement.
“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 majority mentioned, quoted by Times Now. “There is no finding that this mass immigration was an armed, organized force or forces.”
READ: Trump administration eyes naval base near Chicago for ICE operations (
In March, Trump cited the Alien Enemies Act to go after Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang labeled a terrorist group just a month earlier. The administration maintained that the designation gave federal authorities the authority to detain and deport suspected members while limiting standard legal protections.
The day after the announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the administration in court, arguing that the action represented an illegal overreach of presidential authority. On Tuesday, the organization welcomed the appeals court’s decision.
“This is an enormous victory for the rule of law, making clear that the President cannot simply declare a military emergency and then invoke whatever powers he wants,” Lee Gelernt, the ACLU lawyer who argued the case, told The New York Times.
The 5th Circuit Court’s ruling, which has jurisdiction over Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, specifically limits deportations carried out under the Alien Enemies Act. Judges emphasized that the decision does not stop the federal government from pursuing removals through other avenues, such as counterterrorism statutes. In April, the high court temporarily blocked the administration from deporting the Venezuelan migrants while lower-court challenges were underway. At that time, several individuals who had been placed on buses for removal were returned to a detention facility in Texas.
READ: Trump administration pushes proposal to prevent ‘visa abuse’ in the US (
In May, the Supreme Court prolonged its pause on the deportations and remanded the case to the 5th Circuit, directing the court to assess the legality of Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act and to decide what, if any, notice must be given to individuals before removal under the law.
Until the Supreme Court issues a further ruling, Tuesday’s decision is binding on all lower courts within the 5th Circuit. Historically, the Alien Enemies Act has been used just three times, and only during periods of war. Although the law grants presidents wide-ranging power to detain or expel citizens of enemy nations, legal experts have long debated whether it can be applied when the country is not formally at war.
The ruling adds to a series of setbacks for Trump’s immigration agenda. Just last week, a federal judge halted the administration’s efforts to conduct expedited deportations deep within the country. Earlier on Tuesday, another court found that sending thousands of troops to Southern California in response to protests over immigration raids was illegal, further constraining the administration’s enforcement actions.