En Banc Fifth Circuit Dismisses Trump AEA Deportation Case on Procedural Grounds

Trump sought to use the AEA to deport Venezuelans the administration claims are members of the Tren de Aragua drug gang. Last fall, the Fifth Circuit ruled that Trump's action is illegal because illegal migration and drug smuggling do not qualify as an "invasion" or a "predatory incursion" of the kind necessary to invoke the AEA. Later, the Fifth Circuit decided to rehear the case en banc before all 17 of the court's judges.

Today, the en banc court dismissed the case for procedural reasons, because all three of the named plaintiffs have been deported by the government under statutes separate from the AEA. The court did not address the merits of whether illegal migration and drug smuggling constitute an invasion under the AEA. The dismissal leaves unresolved whether Trump's use of the AEA against Tren de Aragua members was lawful.