President Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798​ to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members kicked off a legal battle.​

Flawed deportation 'checklist' targets Venezuelans using tattoos as one gang identifier. But experts say Tren de Aragua doesn't use tattoos for member identification.

"Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than has happened here," a judge told a government lawyer Tuesday.

The Trump administration deported of 137 Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Judge James E. Boasberg ordered flights not to take-off, and, once they did anyway, to return

The law’s roots lie in an undeclared sea conflict between a young American nation and France. President John Adams signed the Alien Enemies Act in July 1798 as the United States came to the brink of war with France.

Once it became clear that Trump was invoking the Alien Enemies Act to remove more than one hundred Venezuelans without due process, the deportations were already underway: detainees had been ...

By citing the act, the administration seems to be highlighting its aggressive posture without taking steps that might be deemed to violate a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge.

A federal judge in Washington said Friday that President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport alleged Venezuelan gang members is “incredibly troublesome and problematic” as he considers the government’s case to end his restraining order blocking their removals.

James Boasberg denied the Trump administration's request to lift a temporary block on deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members through the Alien Enemies Act.