Trump to use 'Alien Enemies Act' to supercharge deportations, target gang

Source: USA Today

Published 5:16 p.m. ET Mar. 13, 2025


DENVER ‒ President Donald Trump is preparing to invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportations as he makes good on his promise to target violent criminal offenders living illegally in the United States. Trump has repeatedly referenced using the law passed 277 years ago, and which was previously been used to detain U.S. citizens of Japanese and German descent during World War II, in a chapter that has since been seen as deeply problematic.

The law gives the president wartime power to deport people without hearings, if deemed necessary. Trump has specifically singled out Denver and neighboring suburb Aurora as targets of the enhanced enforcement due to the presence of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Aurora city officials have downplayed Trump's concerns but have acknowledged the arrest of at least eight known or suspected TdA members in the past year.

"As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do," Trump said during his Jan. 20 inaugural address. He went on to say, "by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our 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, including our cities and inner cities."

Trump on Friday is planning to address the Department of Justice, and has singled out Tren de Aragua as an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States. ICE agents have been highlighting recent TdA detentions they've made across the country.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/13/trump-alien-enemies-act-1798-deportations/82371403007/