Trump to Invoke Alien Enemies Act of 1798 for Deportations to Guantanamo
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US President Donald Trump plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as early as Friday to authorize the expedited deportation of certain migrants, including transfers to Guantanamo Bay, according to multiple US officials familiar with the matter.
The rarely used law grants the president broad authority to arrest, detain, and deport noncitizens aged 14 and older from countries engaged in an "invasion or predatory incursion" against the United States.
Trump is expected to invoke the statute to facilitate the detention and removal of suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which his administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization, the officials said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, they noted that preparations have been made to transfer suspected gang members to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, shortly after the law is enacted.
At Trump’s direction, officials have already detained some migrants at the naval base while awaiting deportation, though the holding facilities were vacant earlier this week, two officials said.
Individuals processed under the Alien Enemies Act would not be granted court hearings or asylum interviews, as they would fall under emergency wartime authority rather than standard immigration law. Instead, they could face detention and removal with minimal due process under Title 50 of the US Code, which governs national defense laws.
CNN first reported Trump’s plans to invoke the law on Friday.
The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked only a handful of times in US history, most notably during World War II, when the US government used it to surveil and detain Italian, German, and Japanese immigrants. Its use against migrants from nations with which the US is not at war is expected to prompt legal challenges.
Trump signaled his intention to invoke the law in an executive order issued on his first day back in office, directing the Departments of State and Homeland Security to prepare the necessary facilities for expedited removals.
"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 US soil, including our cities and inner cities," Trump said in his inaugural address.
