Trump invokes 1798 law to fast-track gang deportations

President Donald Trump has taken further steps in the fight against illegal immigration by signing an executive order that utilises 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 organisation, enabling immigration services to take action against its members.

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

"TDA is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth ... TDA is responsible for some of the most heinous crimes that have occurred on US soil in recent years, including the murders of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray. TDA is a direct threat to the national security of the United States," wrote Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, on social media.

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

Trump's decision met with a reaction from the courts. 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 said, "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 normal 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 certain to face further legal challenges, especially after Judge James Boasberg blocked the application of the act for five Venezuelan migrants.