The ruling, which is limited to the Southern District of Texas, prohibited the administration from using the wartime law because the president’s claims about a Venezuelan gang do not add up to an “invasion.

A Trump-appointed federal judge has ruled that the US president cannot use the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants. US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez said Donald Trump's use of the wartime power was "unlawful" and had been improperly invoked.

A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from deporting any Venezuelans from South Texas under the Alien Enemies Act.