A second federal judge determined President Trump exceeded his authority in using the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport Venezuelans alleged to be gang members, blocking the administration from using it in the Southern District of New York.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Tuesday that Trump ran afoul of the law, which only may be ignited when there is a declared war or if the U.S., is facing an incursion on its territory.
And he excoriated the administration for providing little opportunity for the men to challenge their alleged association with the Tren de Aragua gang, saying the Trump team was failing to meet the due process protections of the wartime law.
Evidence “that TdA [Tren de Aragua] has engaged in either a ‘war,’ ‘invasion’ or a ‘predatory incursion’ of the United States, do not exist,” Hellerstein wrote, citing the predicates for igniting the law.
A federal appeals court rejected on Monday a request by President 
