Appeals Court Upholds Block on Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a District Court’s blockage of deportations using the Alien Enemies Act.

Donald Trump relied on the Alien Enemies Act for authority to send Venezuelan immigrants accused of being affiliated with a particular gang to a maximum security prison in El Salvador without due process. By a vote of 2 to 1, the Appeals Court agreed with District Court Judge James Boasberg and denied the government’s request to lift his order blocking more such deportations.

Appeals Court Judge Patricia Millett wrote, “The government’s removal scheme denies Plaintiffs even a gossamer thread of due process. No notice, no hearing, no opportunity—zero process—to show that they are not members of the gang, to contest their eligibility for removal under the law, or to invoke legal protections against being sent to a place where it appears likely they will be tortured and their lives endangered.”

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