President Donald Trump’s use of an 18th century wartime law to deport people his administration has accused of belonging to a notorious Venezuelan gang is not legal, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative in the country, found in a two-one majority decision that the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was intended for use against invading foreign soldiers and not against criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua, agreeing with immigrant rights lawyers and lower court judges.
