Appeals court dismisses case challenging Alien Enemies Act

A U.S. appeals court has dismissed a case challenging the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.

The ruling does not address whether Trump properly invoked the Act.

The court dismissed a case over the Alien Enemies Act in a messy conclusion to a long-running legal battle that had seemed destined to end up before the Supreme Court.

A federal appeals court on Thursday sidestepped major questions on whether President Trump lawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act last year to conduct swift deportations, finding a key challenge moot. The case had boomeranged from the Supreme Court after Trump began deportations under the rarely used law in the early m