Trump Invokes 1798 Alien Enemies Act for Mass Deportations of Venezuelan Migrants

President Trump has used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan individuals, claiming they pose a security threat. This move receives backlash from rights organizations and Venezuela, which condemns the action as unjust and reminiscent of historical abuses.

More than 200 Venezuelan nationals, alleged to have gang affiliations, were recently deported from the United States to a notorious prison in El Salvador, utilizing a contentious law known as the Alien Enemies Act. This expansive law, dating back to 1798, permits the president to deport individuals from "enemy" nations without the standard legal processes. In a press statement, a senior administration official revealed that out of the 261 deported, 137 were removed under this act, which President Donald Trump invoked while decrying gang activities associated with the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua (TdA).

Despite a temporary judicial order intended to halt these deportations, the White House justified its actions, asserting that the order was illegitimate and not applicable in this context. The deportations drew sharp criticism from human rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed a lawsuit arguing the United States is not at war and highlighting the violations of legal norms.

The Alien Enemies Act grants sweeping power to the president, enacted during a time of tension with France. It allows for the arrest and deportation of nationals from designated enemy countries when there is a declared war or perceived threat of invasion. Historically, this act has seen limited use but has previously led to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War Two, as well as citizens of Germany and Italy.

This is the first instance where Trump has formally executed the provisions of this act, although he has previously alluded to its use in his inaugural address emphasizing the eradication of foreign criminal networks. Critics assert that the law was invoked here as a pretext for broad detentions of Venezuelans based on ancestry rather than verifiable gang-related crimes.

In response to the deportations, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele made a rather flippant comment on social media, signaling that the process was already underway. Venezuelan officials condemned Trump's actions, framing them as discriminatory and invoking comparisons to dark historical periods of enslavement and ethnic persecution. Legal experts warn that the application of the Alien Enemies Act in this context is unprecedented for mass deportations against individuals' heritage rather than substantiated criminal conduct.