Appeals Court Dismisses Challenge to Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act – Journal Posts

A federal appeals court has dismissed a case challenging the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan gang members.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the case is moot because the three named plaintiffs were already removed from the country under the Immigration and Nationality Act, not the wartime Alien Enemies Act. Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote that the court lacks jurisdiction to grant relief once the petitioners are gone.

The dispute arose from the administration’s March 2025 effort to deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged Tren de Aragua members, under the 18th-century law last used extensively during World War II. The Supreme Court later vacated a Fifth Circuit ruling and enjoined the government from removing the named plaintiffs and putative class members under the Act while the case proceeded, directing the 5th Circuit to consider both the administration’s authority to use the law and what notice was required before removal. A three-judge 5th Circuit panel subsequently ruled that the Alien Enemies Act did not authorize removals based on alleged gang membership; that decision was later vacated when the full court agreed to rehear the case.

The Supreme Court’s injunction covering the named plaintiffs and putative class members remains in place.