Fifth Circuit Blocks AEA Deportation Program 2-1, Ruling Tren de Aragua Lacks Required Foreign-Government Direction

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling on September 3, 2025 blocking the Trump administration's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of Tren de Aragua membership. The majority defined "invasion" under the AEA as requiring "an act of war involving the entry into this country by a military force of or at least directed by another country or nation, with a hostile intent." Because the NIC's assessment and six agencies had concluded that the Maduro government does not direct Tren de Aragua, the gang failed the statutory threshold. The ruling validated the analytical framework that NIC acting chair Mike Collins and vice chair Maria Langan-Riekhof had produced before Gabbard fired them in May. As of January 2026, the U.S. government could not account for the whereabouts of 137 of the 238 Venezuelans deported to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center before the ruling. CBS News found no findable criminal records for 75 percent of the 179 Venezuelans whose backgrounds were checked.