Trump Deportations Under Wartime Law Blocked by US Judge
Deported individuals from the US disembark at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela.
Photographer: BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A federal judge in Texas ruled that President Donald Trump improperly invoked a 227-year-old wartime law to deport accused Venezuelan gang members to an El Salvador prison, setting up what may become another high-stakes battle at the US Supreme Court.
The decision Thursday marks the biggest setback yet for Trump’s effort to unilaterally deport suspected gang members under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which he invoked in a March 15 presidential proclamation that triggered a wave of arrests and litigation.