Trump Considers Invoking Alien Enemies Act to Expedite Deportations, Targeting Venezuelan Gang
President Donald Trump is considering employing the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to accelerate deportations, fulfilling his pledge to target violent criminal offenders residing illegally in the United States. Trump has repeatedly alluded to utilizing the law, enacted 226 years ago, which was controversially employed to detain U.S. citizens of Japanese and German ancestry during World War II, a period now widely regarded as deeply problematic.
The Alien Enemies Act grants the president wartime authority to deport individuals without hearings if deemed necessary. Trump has specifically identified Denver and its neighboring suburb Aurora as areas of heightened enforcement due to the presence of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). While Aurora city officials have minimized Trump’s concerns, they have acknowledged the arrest of at least eight known or suspected TdA members within the past year.
"As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do," Trump declared during his inauguration address on January 20.
He elaborated, "By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities."
Trump is scheduled to address the Department of Justice on Friday and has designated Tren de Aragua as an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States. ICE agents have been emphasizing recent TdA detentions across the country.
Experts consulted by USA TODAY pointed out that the Alien Enemies Act is typically applied to citizens of countries that have declared war on or invaded the United States, a criterion that Venezuela does not meet.
Upon assuming office, Trump issued an executive order intensifying immigration enforcement, titled "Protecting the American people against invasion." Invoking the Alien Enemies Act could also enable Trump to deploy more military resources to assist with deportations, a move he and his advisors have repeatedly indicated they plan to implement.
Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, predicted that Trump’s invocation of the law would likely trigger immediate legal challenges, citing its "novel" use during peacetime and potential violation of detainees’ rights. She emphasized the president’s apparent desire to expand the military’s role in deportation efforts. "I think that the Trump administration is trying to expedite deportations for as many people as they can, and this could be another measure to facilitate that," she stated.
Four Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter to Trump in January, cautioning against using terms like "invasion" to invoke wartime powers and reiterating that Congress, not the White House, is responsible for immigration policy. "The United States is not being invaded, it is not at war with migrants, and you must uphold our duly-enacted immigration laws," wrote Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Alex Padilla of California, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
During his presidential campaign, Trump promised the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. However, statistics released last month indicate that federal agents have not significantly increased deportations, despite high-profile raids and detentions. Earlier this year, Trump ordered the construction of a 30,000-bed detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Legal filings reveal that the facility has not yet held more than approximately 200 deportees at any given time.
The U.S. military base in Cuba is notorious for housing terror suspects after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. It gained further notoriety due to allegations of torture and mistreatment during the U.S. war on terrorism, initiated by former President George W. Bush’s administration. The potential utilization of Guantanamo Bay for mass deportations raises serious concerns about due process and human rights.
The Alien Enemies Act’s historical context, particularly its use during World War II to detain individuals based solely on their ethnicity, further complicates the current situation. Critics argue that invoking the law now risks repeating past injustices and could lead to discrimination and the violation of fundamental rights. The legal challenges anticipated by experts are likely to focus on the constitutionality of applying a wartime law during peacetime and the potential for abuse of power.
The debate surrounding Trump’s potential use of the Alien Enemies Act underscores the deep divisions in American society regarding immigration policy. While Trump and his supporters argue that aggressive enforcement measures are necessary to protect national security and public safety, opponents contend that such measures are inhumane, discriminatory, and ultimately ineffective. The legal and political battles that are likely to ensue will undoubtedly shape the future of immigration policy in the United States.
