The admin deported people it designated as Tren de Aragua members to a notorious prison in #ElSalvador where, it argued, #US #courts could not order them freed.
In a deal announced in July, more than 250 of the deported immigrants returned to #Venezuela.
The #AlienEnemiesAct was only used 3 times before in US history, all during declared #wars — in the War of 1812 & the two World Wars.
#Trump #law#ImmigrationLaw #immigration#5thCircuit#AbuseOfPower#Constitution#DueProcess #rendition
The #Trump admin unsuccessfully argued that courts cannot second-guess the president’s determination that Tren de Aragua was connected to #Venezuela’s government & represented a danger to the #US, meriting use of the act.
In a 2-1 ruling, the judges said they granted the preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs because they “found no invasion or predatory incursion” in this case.
#law#AlienEnemiesAct#ImmigrationLaw #immigration#5thCircuit#AbuseOfPower#Constitution#DueProcess
The decision bars #deportations from #Texas, #Louisiana & #Mississippi. In the majority were US Circuit Judges Leslie Southwick, a George W. Bush appointee, & Irma Carrillo Ramirez, a Joe Biden appointee. Andrew Oldham, a #Trump appointee, dissented.
The majority opinion said Trump’s allegations about Tren de Aragua do not meet the historical levels of national conflict that #Congress intended for the act.
“A country’s encouraging its residents & citizens to enter this country illegally is not the modern-day equivalent of sending an armed, organized force to occupy, to disrupt, or to otherwise harm the United States,” the judges wrote.
In a lengthy dissent, Oldham complained his two colleagues were second-guessing Trump’s conduct of foreign affairs & national security, realms where courts usually give the president great deference.
“The majority’s approach to this case is not only unprecedented—it is contrary to more than 200 years of precedent,”Oldham wrote [ridiculous].
The panel did grant the #Trump admin one legal victory, finding the procedures it uses to advise detainees under the #AlienEnemiesAct of their legal rights is appropriate.
The ruling can be appealed to the full #5thCircuit or directly to the #SCOTUS, which is likely to make the ultimate decision on the issue.
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