Fourth Circuit Rules Against Trump Administration in Alien Enemies Act Case

A prison guard transfers Alien Enemies Act deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Mar. 16, 2025 (El Salvador Presidential Press Office)

 

Today, in a 2-1 ruling in J.O.P. v. Department of Homeland Security, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the Trump Administration's invocation of the the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 cannot override a legal settlement barring deportation of a group of migrants. Judge Roger Gregory's concurring opinion (the only one of the three opinions in the case to address the issue) joins a growing list of federal court rulings and opinions holding that Trump's invocation of the AEA is illegal.