A federal judge in Texas became the latest on June 9 to hold that President Donald Trump had misapplied the Alien Enemies Act in attempting to remove from the United States purported members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
In a 56-page opinion, U.S. District Judge David Briones said that Trump violated the Constitution’s guarantee of due process and failed to demonstrate that Tren de Aragua (TdA) was engaged in the type of invasion that allowed presidents to invoke the Act. His comments echoed those of three other federal judges but conflicted with at least one in Pennsylvania.
Briones’s permanent injunction compounded legal rulings that could prompt the Supreme Court to once again intervene on the issue. So far, the nation’s highest court has refrained from stating whether Trump invalidly invoked the law with a proclamation in March. Instead, it clarified the type of due process that Trump was required to provide those he seeks to remove from the country....
