Appeals court weighs Trump's use of wartime law to deport Venezuelans

1/7/2025 6:35

A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments in what is likely to be a decisive lawsuit over whether President Donald Trump's administration can use an 18th-century law to speed up deportations.



The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing whether a group of detainees at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, can be deported under the Alien Enemies Act.



The Trump administration has said the detainees are members of Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents some of the detainees, has disputed the claims of gang membership and says many of its clients have legitimate asylum claims.