What to know about the Alien Enemies Act of 1798
President Trump wants to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Here’s what you need to know about the wartime law.
WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court upheld the block on President Donald Trump’s deportation of Venezuelans accused of being members of the crime gang Tren de Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 1798 law gave presidents “near-blanket authority” to detain and deport any noncitizen from a country at war with the U.S. But the three-judge panel ruled the invasion has to come from a foreign government rather than a gang.
“The AEA authorizes the President to restrain and remove the nationals of a belligerent foreign power,” wrote Judges Karen Henderson, Patricia Millett and Justin Walker. “Such power tracks when invasion is considered in its military sense.”
Trump and his aides have argued that Tren de Aragua conducted an invasion entering the country without legal authorization to commit crimes.
The appeals judges ruled that Trump was mistaken in thinking that courts couldn’t review his actions for national security or foreign affairs.
“At bottom, the government errs by supposing ‘that every case or controversy which touches foreign relations lies beyond judicial cognizance.’” the judges ruled.