Trump's Setback: U.S. Court Halts Deportations Enforced through Martial Law

In a surprising turn of events, the court has handed Donald Trump another loss. Deeming the deportation of suspected foreign cartel members from the US as illegal, a federal judge in Texas prohibited such actions under a controversial war law from the 18th century. This ruling, handed by a judge appointed by Trump himself, temporarily halts these particular deportations, albeit the Trump administration is anticipated to appeal the decision.

Meanwhile, despite this court order, over 200 gang members were sent to El Salvador, a country notorious for its high-security prisons. The US government accused these deportees of being members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and human trafficking. However, the Venezuelan government vehemently denied these allegations.

This controversial war law, known as the "Alien Enemies Act" of 1798, allows the President to detain and deport people from "enemy nations" during wartime or invasion, without due process. This law has been used in the past, primarily during World War I and II, for the internment of Germans and Japanese. The latest actions of the Trump administration, however, have sparked numerous lawsuits, and some deportations have been suspended, even leading to the Supreme Court concluding that Trump could not continue deportations based on the war law.

Although the court decisions were largely technical in nature, the ruling in Texas is significant, as it questions the legality of the AEA in this context. However, the case is expected to progress to a federal appeals court in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the most conservative courts in the country, offering a possible avenue for the Trump administration to overturn the ruling.

In short, the legal status of the AEA in relation to the Trump administration’s deportations is currently blocked and deemed unlawful following recent federal court rulings. This decision sets a precedent against future peacetime misuse of the AEA, marking the first judicial declarations that Trump’s use of the 1798 law in this context is unlawful. Stay tuned for updates on the appeals process.

The federal judge's ruling, based on the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798, sent the Trump administration's deportation policy-and-legislation related to war-and-conflicts to a federal appeals court in New Orleans, Louisiana.
General news outlets are reporting that over 200 suspected foreign cartel members, including members of the Tren de Aragua, were sent to El Salvador despite the recent court order halting certain deportations.
Despite the court's substance-based display of legality over the Trump administration's deportation actions, the Venezuelan government vehemently contests the accusations that the deportees were members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
Crime-and-justice experts have long voiced concerns about the misuse of the Alien Enemies Act, as it has been used in the past without due process and has effectively been suspended in peacetime, such as in the 1950s and the more recent ruling in Texas.
The ruling in Texas temporarily set a precedent against the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act during peacetime, declaring its ongoing application as sentencing many to deportation as unlawful.