El Paso, Texas - Donald Trump's bid to invoke the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to accelerate the mass deportation of Venezuelan migrants is facing another legal setback.

Senior US District Court Judge David Briones in El Paso shot down the administration's use of the AEA to expedite the removal of immigrants it claims are gang members without due process.

"Under the AEA, a president cannot unilaterally define what constitutes an invasion, summarily declare that a foreign nation or government has threatened or perpetrated an invasion or predatory incursion of the United States, identify alien enemies subject to detention or removal, and summarily remove them," the Bill Clinton appointee wrote in his 56-page ruling.

Trump invoked the 1798 wartime law to deport hundreds of Venezuelan nationals to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador. He claimed the migrants were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which he has labeled a foreign terrorist organization.

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"This Court agrees the plain, ordinary meaning of 'invasion' and 'predatory incursion,' as the terms were understood in 1798, require a militarized effort against, and militarized intrusion into, the territory of the United States with the specific purpose of conquering or obtaining control over territory," Briones wrote, adding, "This Court rejects Respondents’ invitation to broaden the meaning of these terms."

The decision was the latest in a string of federal district court rulings determining the administration's use of the AEA to be unconstitutional. One judge, a Trump appointee in Pennsylvania, has said it is permissible.

Briones' ruling applies to the Western District of Texas, which ranges from El Paso to San Antonio, and requires the Trump administration to provide people at least 30 days notice before removal.