Earlier this month, on March 15, President Trump deported over 200 Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador, which has agreed to house deportees for a “very low fee” that the United States has to pay in return, as stated by President Nayib Bukele. According to AP News, the deportees were “immediately transferred to the country’s maximum-security gang prison” located in San Salvador. CNN describes this prison to be notorious for its abominable conditions and home to some of the country’s mass murderers and gang members. With cells built to hold around 80 members, men are let out for only thirty minutes a day.
The Alien Enemies Act (AEA) targets non-citizens and those considered to be enemies of the United States, granting the president broad powers to deport illegal immigrants and criminalize criticism of the government. According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, since its establishment in 1798, the AEA has only been implemented “in the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II,” as the mission of the law was to deport people who were seen as enemies during times of war.
According to officials, these 261 Venezuelans were members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. Around the country, lawyers and advocates have attested the claim that these men had affiliation to the group. Despite direct statements from Donald Trump himself, a lack of evidence has been provided to support the assertion, and many stating they were wrongly suspected because of their tattoos, supposedly connected to Tren de Aragua.
The invocation of this law was taken by shock across the nation and throughout the courts, and many worry about its future implications of targeting immigrants regardless of criminal history. The proclamation reads that “[Tren de Aragua] is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory inclusion against the territory of the United States,” according to the National Public Radio.
Immediately following the proclamation, Federal Judge James Boasberg ordered for the deportation flights to be halted, but despite these orders, 250 people were still deported to El Salvador. The Trump administration has asked the Court of Appeals to overturn the order placed. According to ABC News, Judge Patricia Millett stated that “there were plane loads of people…[with] no procedures in place to notify people,” even commenting that “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act.” Firmly asserting this claim, Millett alleged that potential “Nazis were given hearing boards and were subject to established regulations, while the alleged members of Tren De Aragua were given no such rights.”
Although the three judges of the Court of Appeals voted to uphold the block on deportations with a 2-1 vote on March 26, tensions between the Trump Administration and the courts rage high. As questions and conflict arise regarding presidential power, the centuries-old system of checks and balances continues to uphold the country.
