Trump's use of wartime law for Venezuela deportations is unlawful, judge rules

A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from using an 18th-century wartime law to deport some Venezuelan migrants, in the most sweeping ruling thus far against a key part of the Republican president’s aggressive immigration crackdown.

In a 36-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez in Brownsville, Texas, ruled that the Trump administration exceeded the scope of the Alien Enemies Act by using it to speed up the deportations of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The government labels the gang a terrorist organization.