Trump’s Risky Reliance on the Alien Enemies Act

Creating a state of war would be a steep cost to expedite the removal of Venezuelan gangsters, who could be deported under regular immigration laws anyway.

On the campaign trail, candidate Donald Trump pledged to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal-alien gang members. On March 15, President Trump delivered on his promise, ordering the removal to El Salvador of about 300 Venezuelan illegal aliens suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.

While controversy immediately arose over whether the administration had defied a court order to stop the deportation flights, the more important question will soon demand an answer: whether the Alien Enemies Act applies at all.