Trump invokes 1798 act to target Venezuelan gang members

President Donald Trump has taken further steps in the fight against illegal immigration by signing an executive order that leverages the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The goal of this action is to accelerate the deportation of members of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, who are neither U.S. citizens nor green card holders.

President Trump's executive order aims to expedite the deportation of Venezuelans aged 14 and older who are members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The document states that Venezuelan nationals can be "apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies."

In January, Trump designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, allowing immigration services to take action against its members.

Trump's proclamation emphasized that the Tren de Aragua gang and the MS-13 organization from El Salvador pose an "present an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy."

"Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have ceded ever-greater control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA. The result is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States, and which poses a substantial danger to the United States," wrote Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, on social media.

The Alien Enemies Act has been used only four times previously, most recently by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Trump's decision faced immediate legal challenges. On Saturday, a federal judge halted the deportation of five Venezuelans based on this executive order. The Trump administration has already filed an appeal against this decision. In Trump's statement, he noted, "Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have ceded ever-greater control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA. The result is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States, and which poses a substantial danger to the United States."

Thanks to the proclamation, the Trump administration can expedite deportations without going through the usual criminal and immigration procedures. The White House reported that 300 individuals in U.S. custody have been identified as gang members and may soon be deported to El Salvador.

This decision is likely to face further legal challenges, especially after Judge James Boasberg blocked the application of the act for five Venezuelan migrants.