A new legal setback for the Trump administration in its massive deportation policy.
A federal court of appeals has just upheld a judge’s order blocking the swift expulsion of hundreds of migrants under the Alien Enemies Act.
This decision deals a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts, which sought to use a rarely invoked law to justify these expulsions.
The Alien Enemies Act, passed in 1798, allows the government to expel nationals of enemy countries during times of war or invasion. Until now, this law has only been applied in wartime contexts, notably during the two world wars. However, the Trump administration attempted to use it to expel Venezuelan migrants, claiming they belonged to the criminal gang Tren de Aragua, which was deemed a national security threat.
“This law has never been used to target migrants in peacetime,” explains Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), as cited by The Hill. “The administration is trying to justify these expulsions without any respect for fundamental rights,” he lamented (The Hill).
The Trump administration had already invoked this controversial law to deport more than 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador, where migrants are detained under extreme conditions, without any access to legal defense.
Judge James Boasberg, who initially blocked these expulsions, ruled that this use of the Alien Enemies Act exceeds the legal framework and poses a risk to constitutional rights.
The Trump administration immediately challenged this decision, arguing that the president has absolute authority over national security and that these measures are necessary to protect the country. However, the Court of Appeals upheld Boasberg’s order in a 2-1 ruling. Judge Karen Henderson, despite being from the conservative camp, rejected Trump’s justification:
“An invasion is a military action, not a migratory phenomenon,” the magistrate declared before the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals (The Hill).
While this decision represents a temporary victory for migrant rights advocates, the battle is far from over. The Trump administration could—and most certainly will—appeal to the Supreme Court, where the conservative majority may be more favorable to its position.
In the meantime, hundreds of migrants remain in detention, caught in a legal limbo. The ACLU and other human rights organizations continue to monitor the situation and denounce the abusive use of emergency laws to justify increasingly harsh immigration policies.
“We are witnessing an attempt to bypass legal procedures under the guise of national security,” warns Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, in remarks reported by The Hill. “But the courts are doing their job, reminding us that even a president cannot act outside the legal framework” (The Hill).
