A federal appeals court announced late Tuesday that President Trump had concluded he could not invoke wartime law.
In March, Trump referenced the 1798 Alien Enemy Act to remove certain Venezuelans, claiming they were linked to the Tren de Aragua gang.
The recent judgment indicated that Trump had effectively halted the enforcement of laws regarding immigrants detained in northern Texas, potentially bringing the matter back to the Supreme Court.
A divided panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found no evidence of “invasions” or “predatory invasions” by foreign entities.
Circuit Judge Leslie Southwick wrote, while acknowledging that drug trafficking is a serious issue, it does not fit the definition of invasions as understood during the 1798 context. “Drugs are indeed a tragedy that weakens our citizens and our country, but they don’t constitute an invasion in the historical or current sense,” Southwick noted.
Southwick is a nominee of former President George W. Bush. U.S. Circuit Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, appointed by President Biden, concurred that the president’s appeal was improperly motivated, reflecting on the stance of Trump’s appointee, U.S. Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham.
Oldham contended that his fellow judges breached centuries of legal precedent and commented on the importance of the president’s declarations being final. “The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the President’s determinations of invasion or rebellion are conclusive,” Oldham stated.
Trump’s application of the alien enemy law has been a central focus of his immigration policy, and shortly after invoking it, immigration agents began deporting numerous Venezuelans into detention facilities.
This led to a series of lawsuits nationwide and followed concerns raised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) about the administration’s use of the law to expedite the removal of immigrants held in Texas.
The Supreme Court intervened to temporarily halt the deportations while the Fifth Circuit reviewed the issue. Now, with the panel’s decision, the administration faces choices about how to proceed, possibly involving the entire Fifth Circuit Court.
The Department of Justice was contacted for comments on the matter.
Lee Gererund, a lead immigration attorney, characterized the ruling as a significant win for the rule of law, indicating that the president couldn’t arbitrarily invoke such powers.
While the outcome was largely unfavorable for Trump, two of the three judges did provide him with a partial advantage.
The ACLU also argued that even if Trump correctly called upon the alien enemy law, the government had failed to give immigrants adequate due process to address claims of gang affiliations.
Southwick and Oldham agreed that the government’s current seven-day notification period was insufficient. Ramirez argued that many immigrants struggle to secure legal counsel within that timeframe and proposed extending it to 21 days.
Furthermore, the court noted that Trump maintained authority to expel immigrants under standard immigration regulations.
The ruling clarified that the government could still reject individuals and members of the presumed class based on other legal grounds.
