President Donald Trump has recently invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan nationals to a supermax prison in El Salvador, despite many stating that this action is in violation of the law.
By the 17th of March 2025, a reported 238 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) had arrived in El Salvador. The Trump administration called for the deportation of these Venezuelan nationals on the grounds that they all belong to the TdA, a gang which Trump has referred to as “invading” the US.
The UN has reported that more than a quarter of the population of Venezuela has left in the last decade – the largest mass migration in the Americas’ history.
“Large-scale movement and displacement of people, often seeking asylum in high-income countries, evokes great fear within politicians”
Since 2022, approximately 750,000 Venezuelans have arrived in the US. Large-scale movement and displacement of people, often seeking asylum in high-income countries, evokes great fear within politicians and administrations like Trump, whose campaigns and manifestos concern stopping immigration.
Lawyers defending Venezuelan migrants have since put forward how they believe this recent deportation has been used to “deter people” from seeking protection in the US.
Those who are wrongfully accused are at the centre of this event. One defence lawyer states her client has no criminal history or record, and no link to any criminal group, but is instead an LGBTQ+ artist seeking asylum in the US, wrongfully accused based on his tattoos – which have shown no link to the TdA. His lawyer questions, “If it could happen to him, who’s next?”
This overall highlights how important the mass deportation debate is for future safety and security in the US as we begin to ask questions of the extent to which the Trump administration will go to ensure reductions in the number of foreign nationals living in the US. This will inevitably increase the risk to immigrants living in the US, especially when people are immediately detained without trial.
US judge James Boasberg called for a 14-day halt to the deportations, but by the time the planes were already in flight. The Alien Enemies Act allows presidents to deport non-citizens during wartime, which many lawyers and judges have accused Trump of violating, as the country is currently not in “wartime”.
“One defence lawyer states her client has no criminal history or record, and no link to any criminal group, but is […] wrongfully accused based on his tattoos”
The act is rarely used and traditionally reserved for periods of war, such as both World Wars and the War of 1812. This has been criticised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which has filed lawsuits in attempts to stop the deportations as the US is not at war, and as the Trump administration has put the rights of its immigrant population at risk.
The White House have said that these claims to stop their actions have “no lawful basis”. Furthermore, Trump has called for the impeachment of US judge James Boasberg for his attempts to stop the deportations.
Triggering this centuries-old act has highlighted the extent to which the Trump administration lacks respect for its immigrant and asylum-seeking population and how, by seeking to rapidly reduce its immigrant numbers, it is putting hundreds and thousands of people in danger.
