Fifth Circuit Dismisses Trump Alien Enemies Act Challenge After 3 Venezuelan Plaintiffs Were Removed
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 14
Fifth Circuit Dismisses Trump Alien Enemies Act Challenge After 3 Venezuelan Plaintiffs Were Removed
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 14
Summary
A 17-judge Fifth Circuit threw out the case as moot after the three Venezuelan plaintiffs had already been removed from the United States under other immigration authorities.
That leaves unresolved whether Trump lawfully invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against alleged Tren de Aragua members, even after the Supreme Court had sent the dispute back without deciding the merits.
The full court also refused to let plaintiffs' lawyers swap in new detainees, a move that likely delays any definitive Supreme Court ruling on the statute.
Two Trump-appointed judges, James Ho and Andrew Oldham, wrote separately that the president's use of the law was valid, while critics warned such deference would turn emergency powers into a blank check.