Trump Calls on Alien Enemies Act to Address Venezuelan Gang Threat

On Saturday, President Donald Trump invoked the seldom-used Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to initiate the deportation of individuals associated with a Venezuelan gang that he accused of “illegally infiltrating” the United States, shortly after a federal judge imposed temporary restrictions on its enforcement.

This wartime statute grants the president the authority to swiftly detain and deport individuals from a “hostile” nation during “declared war” or if a foreign government is involved in an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” into the United States. According to the Constitution, only Congress possesses the power to declare war.

Legal analysts have disputed Trump’s interpretation of the Alien Enemies Act, asserting that it was intended for use solely in wartime, and that invoking it for the deportation of immigrants may be unlawful.

Ilya Somin, a professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, stated earlier this year that “illegal migration and cross-border drug trafficking do not constitute an ‘invasion’ and certainly not one by a ‘hostile nation or government.’”

In his proclamation using the law, Trump accuses the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua of “infiltrating” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime, conducting “irregular warfare” within the U.S., and utilizing drug trafficking as a weapon against American citizens.

“Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have relinquished increasing control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA [Tren De Aragua]. The outcome is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion and predatory incursion into the United States, presenting a significant threat to the nation,” reads the proclamation.

Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Tren De Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization following Trump’s executive order that established a framework for such a designation.

In the order, Trump accused the group of carrying out a “campaign of violence and terror” and inundating “the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and ruthless gangs.” He also instructed federal officials to “prepare operational plans” for enforcing the Alien Enemies Act.

Just hours before the White House released Trump’s proclamation, the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit alleging that the administration was preparing to swiftly deport five Venezuelan men under the Alien Enemies Act.

“The Trump administration’s intention to use a wartime authority for immigration enforcement is as unprecedented as it is unlawful,” said ACLU lead counsel Lee Gelernt. “It may represent the administration’s most extreme measure to date.”

In response to the lawsuit, Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court James E. Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Trump administration from deporting the five Venezuelans named in the case for at least 14 days, during which time court proceedings will continue.

The Trump administration is appealing that decision.

During a hearing on Saturday afternoon, Justice Department attorneys assured the judge that the five Venezuelans ordered to remain in the country were not currently on deportation flights, although the government could not confirm if flights to Central America were occurring.

Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act fulfills a commitment he made during his campaign to utilize the statute against suspected gang members, drug dealers, and cartel members.

“I’ll immediately invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members, drug dealers, and cartel members from the United States, putting an end to the scourge of illegal alien gang violence once and for all,” Trump declared in a campaign speech in Dubuque, Iowa, in 2023.

Trump is the first president in nearly a century to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, and the first to do so outside the context of a significant conflict. The last invocation was in 1941 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who used the law against Japanese, German, and Italian migrants during World War II, an action for which the United States has since expressed regret.