DevelopingUpdated Apr 15, 2026

Courts Battle Trump Over Use of 1798 Alien Enemies Act for Mass Deportations

President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in March 2025 to rapidly deport Venezuelan nationals he accused of membership in the Tren de Aragua gang, sending over 200 to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on April 7, 2025 that deportees must be given an opportunity to challenge their removal via habeas corpus, and then ruled 7-2 in May 2025 that 24 hours' notice was insufficient due process. A Trump-appointed federal judge permanently barred use of the law in the Southern District of Texas, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked its use across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi in a 2-1 ruling in September 2025. The core legal dispute — whether a peacetime gang can qualify as an 'alien enemy' triggering the wartime statute — has yet to be definitively resolved by the Supreme Court, setting up a likely final constitutional showdown.

Alien Enemies Act deportations — national security necessity or unconstitutional power grab?

President Has Authority to ActThe administration argues the Alien Enemies Act grants the executive branch broad, congressionally authorized power to remove dangerous foreign nationals rapidly, and that gang activity tied to a hostile foreign government constitutes the 'invasion' the law requires.

Due Process Cannot Be BypassedCritics — including majorities of the Supreme Court and multiple federal judges — argue the Alien Enemies Act was designed for declared wartime against nation-states, not peacetime gang enforcement, and that removing people without adequate notice or hearings violates constitutional due process.

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