Politics
Trump Invokes Wartime Alien Enemies Act In Major Escalation Of Deportation Strategy
President Donald Trump on Saturday invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to order the swift detention and deportation of all Venezuelan nationals suspected of being members of the notoriously violent Tren de Aragua prison gang.
“Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with thousands of members, many of whom have unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States,” Trump wrote in his proclamation.
While the gang’s presence in the United States was minimal just under a decade ago, Tren de Aragua rapidly expanded during the illegal immigration crisis that saw more than 10 million illegal aliens flood the country during the Biden presidency. The gang has been linked to several heinous crimes since 2021, including kidnapping, robbery and murder in the United States.
Last year, the gang generated national headlines when an entire apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado was taken over by Tren de Aragua. The group has also been linked to extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, contract killings, smuggling, organized retail theft and human trafficking from Panama to Brazil and along the Andean corridor, Latin American police officials say.
In his order, Trump noted that the group has received support from Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro’s regime. “TdA operates in conjunction with Cártel de los Soles, the Nicolas Maduro regime-sponsored, narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela, and commits brutal crimes, including murders, kidnappings, extortions, and human, drug, and weapons trafficking. TdA has engaged in and continues to engage in mass illegal migration to the United States to further its objectives of harming United States citizens, undermining public safety, and supporting the Maduro regime’s goal of destabilizing democratic nations in the Americas, including the United States,” Trump wrote.
The president further noted that Tren de Aragua has infiltrated top law enforcement and state security agencies in Venezuela. He specifically pointed to Tareck El Aissami, the current vice president of Venezuela, who previously served as governor of Aragua. During his tenure from 2012 through 2017, the group rapidly expanded in size and influence.
Trump signs a number of executive orders just hours after being sworn in on January 20
El Aissami is designated as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, 21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq. and is currently a fugitive for violating U.S.-imposed sanctions.
“Like El Aissami, Nicolas Maduro, who claims to act as Venezuela’s President and asserts control over the security forces and other authorities in Venezuela, also maintains close ties to regime-sponsored narco-terrorists. Maduro leads the regime-sponsored enterprise Cártel de los Soles, which coordinates with and relies on TdA and other organizations to carry out its objective of using illegal narcotics as a weapon to ‘flood’ the United States,” Trump continued.
The president also pointed to a December, 2024 Interpol memo confirming that “Tren de Aragua has emerged as a significant threat to the United States as it infiltrates migration flows from Venezuela.”
On February 20, Trump designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization after consultation with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He then announced that he will be invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and directed the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to “apprehend, restrain, secure, and remove every” Venezuelan migrant, 14 or older, who is deemed to be part of Tren de Aragua and who lacks U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.
Under the act, targeted individuals could be arrested, detained and deported without any of the due process protections provided under U.S. immigration law. Instead, they would be treated as enemy aliens and processed under America’s wartime laws.
The order was dealt an immediate blow in what is becoming a theme of the Trump Administration, however, as a federal judge temporarily blocked it. The ruling was made in response to a federal civil lawsuit filed Saturday by a group of five Venezuelan men in immigration custody in Texas and New York local jails against President Trump and other administration officials.
James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the District Court for the U.S. District of Columbia, on Saturday implemented a temporary restraining order preventing their deportations for 14 days. The Department of Justice immediately filed an appeal, arguing that the D.C. court has no jurisdiction over the matter since none of the detainees in question were arrested in the district.
