The question of what happens if the Trump administration openly defies a federal court order has hung over the United States since President Donald Trump’s second term began. If that happens, it will trigger a constitutional crisis. Now, that long-awaited crisis may be upon us.

On Saturday, Trump issued a proclamation claiming the authority to deport Venezuelan nationals that, he claims, are members of a criminal gang known as Tren de Aragua. Trump alleges that these foreign nationals may be swiftly removed under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law that has only been invoked three times in American history — the last time in World War II.

Trump’s claim is highly dubious. The Alien Enemies Act permits the president to order the removal of all citizens of a foreign nation when there is a “declared war” with that nation, or when “invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government.”

The United States is not at war with Venezuela. Nor has the Venezuelan government invaded or even threatened to invade the United States.

Not long after Trump issued his proclamation, on the same Saturday........

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