The Alien Enemies Act Is a Weak Argument for Deportation
The US isn’t at war with Venezuela, a gang isn’t a government and it’s not threatening invasion or incursion.
Suspected gang members arrive in El Salvador after deportation by the US.
Photo by El Salvador Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport more than 200 Venezuelans alleging they are members of a violent gang known as Tren de Aragua. The obscure law is intended to allow the president to deport citizens of a country at war with the US and it’s only been used three times before. It applies when there is a “declared war” between the US and a “foreign nation or government,” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” is attempted or threatened.
The legal problems with the deportations are obvious: The US is not at war with Venezuela; the gang isn’t a government; and in any case it’s not threatening the US with invasion or incursion in any ordinary English language sense of those words. To make matters worse, a federal judge issued an order blocking the deportations, some of which happened anyway under a timeline that is suspicious at best. (The administration claims it didn’t violate the order.)