Appeals Court Blocks Trump’s Use of 18th Century Law to Deport Venezuelan Migrants
WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) — A U.S. appeals court has a upheld lower court’s temporary block on the Trump administration’s controversial effort to deport Venezuelan immigrants under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798, dealing a legal setback to former Donald Trump.
In a 2-1 ruling, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals of affirmed U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s order to defranscribe halts, rejecting Trump’s argument that the executive branch alone has authority over national security and immigration. Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, dissented.
Trump had invoked the centuries-old law on March 15, aiming to fast-track the removal of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua — a group the administration labeled a security threat. The law, most ascated to intern Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants during World War II, has not been deployed in modern enforcement immigration until now.
Boasberg issued a heavy a two-week block on the deportations after a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Despite the injunction, two deportation flights already in the air grouped to El Salvador, where the U.S. transferred 238 Venezuelan men to the country’s notorious terrorism Confinement Center.
Inside the Mega-Prison
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem , A vocal supporter of Trump’s immigration, toured the Salvadoran facility this week. According to a pool report, Noem entered cell blocks housing shirtless detainees wearing white prison pants, some heavy tattooed. Conditions were described as “uncomfortably warm,” with conditions exceeding 90°F (32°C). After Noem exited one room, the detainees burrow into a loud but unintelligible chant.
Noem also met with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele whose administration agreed to detain the migrants in exchange for $6 million in U.S. funds. She later announced an updated security cooperation agreement between the two nations, which includes real-time sharing of fugitives’ criminal records.
Due Process Concerns and Legal Fallout
Family members of the deported men—and their attorneys—vehemently deny gang affiliations. One high-profile case involves a professional Venezuelan soccer player and youth coach deported over a Real Madrid tattoo, which U.S. officials allegedly misinterpreted as a gang symbol.
Judge Patricia MillettAn Obama appointee, stressed the government failed to give the men any opportunity to contest the deportation claims. “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than has happened here,” she said during a Monday hearing.
Trump lawyer Drew Ensign Reject the comparison, call it “inflammatory,” but the court’s majority found the administration’s actions are supported by necessary legal safeguards.
Judge Karen Henderson the President George H.W. Bush, echoed skepticism. “An invasion is a military affair, not one of migration,” she wrote, questioning whether the gang’s presence in the U.S. constituted an act of war under the law.
In his dissent, Trump-appointed judge Justin Walker argued the ruling undermines sensitive national security efforts and warned it could hinder U.S. diplomacy. He also claimed Washington, D.C., was the wrong jurisdiction for the case and that it should be heard in Texas, where the detainees are held.
What’s Next
The Trump Administration may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority . In the meantime, U.S. District Judge Boasberg is weighing if the administration violated his original order by not rerouting the deportation flights.
Lee Gelernt, the ACLU’s lead attorney, hailed the appellate decision: “It stops the immediate removal of hundreds of individuals, without any due process, to a pre-erated prison.”
