Judge backs Trump's invocation of Alien Enemies Act for deportations
Source: Politico
05/13/2025 05:23 PM EDT
A federal judge for the first time has backed President Donald Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, a war power Trump has used to deport Venezuelans he claims are part of a criminal gang. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines, a Trump appointee to the bench in Pennsylvania, upheld Trump’s March 14 proclamation declaring that Tren de Aragua, a violent gang based in Venezuela, is mounting an “incursion” into the United States.
Though that “incursion” looks nothing like the military invasions the founders envisioned when they passed the Alien Enemies Act in 1798, Haines said old statutes can be applied to modern developments in the world. And she compared Tren de Aragua to the “military detachments or pirates” that pillaged the United States when the law was passed.
It’s a rare legal victory for Trump on the most aggressive plank of his mass deportation effort. Judges in New York, Colorado and Texas have reached the opposite result, concluding in effect that the gang is not mounting the type of government-backed “incursion” needed to justify the president’s invocation of the act.
But Haines’ ruling is double-edged. Despite backing Trump on the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, her ruling sharply rejected the administration’s primary goal: to deport those targeted by the Alien Enemies Act quickly — sometimes within hours — with limited due process.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/13/alien-enemies-act-trump-ruling-00346312
Link to RULING (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.pawd.318716/gov.uscourts.pawd.318716.72.0_4.pdf
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