Trump invokes sweeping wartime authority to target members of Venezuelan gang [View all]

Source: CNN Politics

Updated 4:38 PM EDT, Sat March 15, 2025


CNN — The Trump administration Saturday invoked a sweeping wartime authority, which has been used only three times before, to speed up the deportations of migrants affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

The little-known 18th-century law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, gives the president tremendous authority to target and remove undocumented immigrants. The law is designed to be invoked if the US is at war with another country, or a foreign nation has invaded the US or threatened to do so. For that reason, legal experts have argued it would face an uphill battle in court.

In a presidential proclamation, released Saturday, the White House cited its designation of Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, saying many of them have “unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.”

The proclamation calls for all those subject to the measure to be immediately arrested, detained, and removed.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/15/politics/trump-invokes-wartime-authorities-alien-enemies-act/index.html