For Immediate Release
September 3, 2025
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit last night blocked the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan nationals who they allege belong to the violent gang Tren de Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, the Cato Institute, and others filed an amicus brief in the case, W.M.M. v. Trump, arguing that the law’s text and history show that the Alien Enemies Act was designed for wartime, not peacetime, and that the president exceeded the limits of his powers by invoking the law for deportations.
Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel in the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, had the following comment:
“This opinion is a victory for the rule of law and our system of checks and balances. It affirms that baseless national security claims do not negate truth, common sense, and individual liberties: There is no ‘invasion’ or other act of war that justifies invoking the Alien Enemies Act, an outdated and dangerous statute that was last used for internment in World War II. The Trump administration should immediately rescind its invocation of the law.”
