Alien Enemies Act: The 18th-century wartime law Trump used for deportation but failed, explained

A US federal judge has halted President Donald Trump’s attempt to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law, ordering any flights that had already departed to return immediately.

Trump signed a proclamation on Friday invoking the Alien Enemies Act, a law dating back to 1798, to deport Venezuelans allegedly linked to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua. This marks the first time the act has been used since World War II. Historically, it has only been applied during declared wars to remove foreign nationals from enemy states.

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However, on Saturday, US District Judge James Boasberg, the chief judge of the District of Columbia, blocked the move after civil rights groups challenged it in court. During the hearing, Boasberg stated that “flights are actively departing” and ordered the administration to stop removals immediately.

The judge warned that deported individuals could suffer "irreparable harm," explaining, “These folks will be deported, and many, or the vast majority, will end up in prisons in other countries or sent back to Venezuela, where they face persecution, or worse.”

In response to the halt, Republican Congressman Brandon Gill took to X to announce that he will file impeachment articles against Boasberg.

"I’ll be filing Articles of Impeachment against activist judge James Boasberg this week," Gill wrote.

Trump’s justification for the proclamation

In his order, Trump claimed that Tren de Aragua was “conducting irregular warfare” against the United States under the “clandestine” direction of Venezuela’s Maduro regime. However, civil liberties organisations immediately challenged the move, arguing that the administration wrongly categorised immigrants as criminals without allowing them to present their cases in court.

The lawsuit included five Venezuelan men who said they had fled persecution or gangs in their home country and feared for their safety.

Judge Boasberg initially issued a 14-day restraining order preventing the deportation of the five men, who were reportedly at risk of being transferred to notorious mega-prisons in El Salvador. The Salvadoran government had offered to jail 300 alleged Tren de Aragua members as part of a $6 million deal with the U.S.

Later in the day, the judge expanded the protection to all noncitizens detained under the proclamation in US federal detention centres.

What is the Alien Enemies Act?

The Alien Enemies Act is a U.S. law passed in 1798 as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts. It gives the president the power to detain or deport nationals of hostile countries during a declared war or invasion.

Key points about the Act:

• It allows the president to detain or remove individuals aged 14 and older from enemy nations, based solely on their nationality.
• Deportations can occur without a court hearing, raising concerns about due process and equal protection.
• It was first applied by President James Madison during the War of 1812 against British nationals in the US.
• It was used in World War I to detain and deport individuals from enemy nations.
• During World War II, it justified the internment of Japanese, German, and Italian nationals, as well as Japanese-American citizens, a decision widely condemned as a civil liberties violation.

Is the act meant for immigration enforcement?

Traditionally, invasion has been interpreted as a military action, such as a large-scale attack. However, some politicians now argue that illegal immigration or drug trafficking could be classified as an “invasion” under the law, enabling mass deportations.

Past presidents and courts have treated the act strictly as a wartime measure, not as a tool for immigration enforcement.

(With inputs from agencies)