President Donald Trump’s administration, hellbent on finding every legal loophole that allows them to carry out mass deportations of immigrants, has employed The Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The Alien Enemies Act — which is more than two centuries old — has a past fraught with heinous acts by the U.S. government.
The Alien Enemies Act allows the U.S. government to deport or detain noncitizens without giving them the opportunity to appear before an immigration or federal court judge during times of war. Essentially, the act eliminates due process when it comes to the deportation of illegal immigrants.
The Trump administration invoked the act to deport members of the Tren de Aragua gang, who originated in Venezuela, without the proper process or procedures. While the U.S. is not in a state of war on the gang — one of the requirements for the act to be employed — Trump has proclaimed the gang an invading force.
According to the Associated Press, the Trump administration has not disclosed the identities of noncitizens deported under the act or provided any evidence that those deported were members of the gang or committed any crimes in the U.S.
An order was issued by a federal judge to cease deportations committed using the act. At the time of the order, two planes carrying deported noncitizens were already en route to El Salvador. The judge verbally ordered the Trump administration to turn the flights around, but they continued on to their final destinations.
Trump’s dangerous, unilateral move to deport noncitizens without following due process — without providing sufficient evidence to justify their expulsion — echoes the past atrocities committed by the U.S. government when invoking The Alien Enemies Act. Most notably, the U.S. invoked the act to detain thousands of Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II.
The Alien Enemies Act should never have been invoked to deport these noncitizens, regardless of their possible gang affiliation. This shameful action by the Trump administration circumvents due process and gives the administration a dangerous level of unchecked power to deport noncitizens they deem a threat. This is compounded by Trump’s refusal to follow a verbal court order, presenting a potential constitutional crisis.
Trump’s warpath against illegal immigrants has caused irreparable damage to thousands of individuals. This dangerous agenda is not worth upending the essential pillars of the U.S. justice system — or its democracy.
English
Spanish