A U.S. federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump cannot use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to speed up deportations of Venezuelan migrants accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua (TdA) and being responsible for an “invasion,” setting the dispute on track for a possible Supreme Court ruling.
Trump had invoked the EAA through a proclamation issued in March to expel Venezuelan nationals, claiming they were part of the ToA, which he described as a foreign criminal organization representing a “predatory invasion” of the United States.
However, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, in a 2-to-1 decision, ruled that the law does not apply to the case and rejected the Trump Administration’s invasion argument.
The SAA, adopted in 1798, authorizes the expulsion of “natives, citizens or subjects of a hostile nation” only if there is a “declared” state of war against another country or if a foreign power engages in a “predatory invasion or incursion” into U.S. territory.
“For a country to encourage illegal migration does not amount to sending an armed and organized force to occupy, disrupt or cause damage to the United States,” the court noted, adding that “there has been no showing that this mass immigration constitutes an armed or organized force.”
Under this understanding, the court concluded that there was no “invasion or predatory incursion” attributable to a foreign power.
In January, Trump had already reinstated “immediate removal” of undocumented immigrants, a policy he implemented in his first term (2017-2021) that allows for the deportation of those who cannot demonstrate at least two years of continuous residence in the country, without a court hearing.
Until the Supreme Court rules, the appeals court decision is binding on lower courts in the Fifth Circuit, which includes Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, states where deportations under the EAA had been implemented.
The lawsuit against the use of the EAA was filed and defended by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which welcomed the ruling, “which makes it clear that the president cannot simply declare a military emergency and invoke whatever powers he feels like,” according to information from EFE.
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com.
