HOUSTON — A federal court in southern Texas today ruled the Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) does not meet the “invasion” or “predatory incursion” requirement in the law, and blocked the administration from using it against anyone being held in the court’s judicial district. The case is JAV v. Trump. The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas brought the lawsuit to halt the removals.
Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas, said: “This permanent injunction is a significant win for preventing unlawful, unilateral executive action that has been stoking fear across Texas, especially within border communities. Immigrants are, and always have been, an integral part of this state and nation. They, too, are protected by U.S. laws and the Constitution.”
ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, lead counsel, had the following reaction to today’s ruling: “The court ruled the president can’t unilaterally declare an invasion of the United States and invoke a wartime authority during peacetime. Congress never meant for this 18th-century wartime law to be used this way. This is a critically important decision that prevents more people from being sent to the notorious CECOT prison.”
The ruling is online here: https://www.aclu.org/cases/jav-v-trump?document=ORDER#legal-documents