U.S. President Donald Trump is set to invoke a wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act which hasn’t been used since World War II, as part of the efforts to carry out mass deportations. This Act will allow the Trump administration to detain and deport the natives and citizens of an enemy country. This means that migrants could be deported without a hearing.
However, legal experts say it would be difficult for U.S. President Donald Trump to use the law because a foreign government isn’t attacking the country. The Alien Enemies Act will give him sweeping authority to remove undocumented immigrants while providing them with little to no due process.
But this could be challenged in court.
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What is the Alien Enemies Act
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was used during World War II to detain Japanese Americans. It was also used to detain and deport thousands of German, Austro-Hungarian, and Italian immigrants without a hearing under the guise that their nationality represented a ‘national security threat’.
This law was also used by Democratic Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman to detain and deport immigrants and political enemies of the U.S. government. Through the Alien Enemies Act, the president can order the detention of American citizens of nations that are invading or engaged in combat with the U.S. government without a hearing.
During his inaugural address, Trump said he would direct the government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil.
The Trump administration intends to target the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Over time, the government will broaden the number of alleged foreign terrorist organizations to include any of Trump’s political opponents.
