Overview
- Judge John Holcomb issued a preliminary injunction in the Central District of California after finding that Venezuelan migrants lacked adequate notice and a chance to contest their deportations under the 1798 law.
- Holcomb, a Trump appointee, held that the president possesses near-unreviewable power to invoke the Alien Enemies Act but must still afford due process protections.
- Federal courts in at least five states have split on the law’s peacetime use, with some judges rejecting its application to alleged gang members and others upholding expansive executive authority.
- The administration has deported hundreds of Venezuelans accused of Tren de Aragua ties—including some without criminal records—to a Salvadoran supermax prison, prompting human rights concerns.
- The Supreme Court has already required notice and challenge rights for deportees but has yet to rule on the broader legality of invoking a wartime statute in peacetime and is expected to resolve the dispute.