Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump Administration's Expansive Use of Alien Enemies Act

In a landmark decision, a federal appeals court delivered a significant blow to the Trump administration's efforts to broaden presidential powers regarding immigration, ruling that President Trump could not invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport non-citizens. This ruling clarifies that the ancient law applies only during a formally declared war and specifically targets citizens or subjects of hostile nations, not individuals caught in immigration disputes.

The Ninth U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals emphatically rejected the administration's argument that the Alien Enemies Act granted the president nearly unreviewable authority to declare any non-citizen an .