Trump invokes 18th century Alien Enemies Act to declare invasion of Tren de Aragua, speed deportatio

[Canuck Conservative]

By AP
NY Post (Mar. 15, 2025)
https://nypost.com/2025/03/15/us-news/trump-invokes-18th-century-alien-enemies-act-to-declare-invasion-of-tren-de-aragua-speed-deportations/

Trump’s declaration targets Tren de Aragua, contending it is a hostile force acting at the behest of Venezuela’s government. The declaration comes the same day that a federal judge in Washington barred the administration from deporting five Venezuelans under the expected order, a hint at the legal battle brewing over Trump’s move. The judge was scheduled to consider expanding the prohibition on deportation just minutes after Trump’s afternoon announcement.

“Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have ceded ever-greater control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA,” Trump’s statement reads. “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.”...

Trump pledged to use the Alien Enemies Act during his presidential campaign, and immigration groups were braced for it. That led to Saturday’s unusual lawsuit, filed before Trump’s declaration even became public. The suit by the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward on behalf of five Venezuelans whose cases suddenly moved towards deportation in recent hours.

James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the D.C. Circuit, agreed to implement a temporary restraining order preventing the deportation for 14 days under the act of the five Venezuelans who are already in immigration custody and believed they were being about to be deported. Boasberg said his order was “to preserve the status quo.” Boasberg scheduled a hearing for later in the afternoon to see if his order should be expanded to protect all Venezuelans in the United States.

Hours later, the Trump administration appealed the initial restraining order, contending that halting a presidential act before it has been announced would cripple the executive branch.

If the order were allowed to stand, “district courts would have license to enjoin virtually any urgent national-security action just upon receipt of a complaint,” the Justice Department wrote in its appeal.

It said district courts might then issue temporary restraining orders on actions such as drone strikes, sensitive intelligence operations, or terrorist captures or extraditions. The court “should halt that path in its tracks,” the department argued....

[Canuck Conservative]

Of course the Left wants to "preserve the status quo", they love criminals!

[DB]

Well, all this a major boon for D.C. lawyers... They're getting even richer...

[libertybele]

This is an Act that is being invoked by the President, not an e.o.  This ACT has passed Congress.

It is disgusting that non-citizen gang members have a right to a day in court using U.S. attorneys.  They should have NO rights under U.S. laws!!!! 

[Kamaji]

The Act doesn't apply to the particular situation, and just saying it does doesn't change the facts.

[Right_in_Virginia]

The Act doesn't apply to the particular situation,

Why not?

[mystery-ak]

Photos: First Look at Trump’s Deported Gang Members Arriving at El Salvador’s Mega-Prison
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/03/17/photos-first-look-trumps-deported-gang-members-arriving-el-salvadors-mega-prison/

[berdie]

I read an article about this prison. Talk about a scary place! They don't allow much "latitude".

Too darn bad for these guys. /s

[DCPatriot]

What is the reason the perp is made to walk bent-over at the waist while held by two uniformed officials?

They are chained around the ankles and handcuffed already...they ain't going anywhere   

Is it strictly a forum of corporal punishment?   

[Lando Lincoln]

What is the reason the perp is made to walk bent-over at the waist while held by two uniformed officials?

They are chained around the ankles and handcuffed already...they ain't going anywhere   

Is it strictly a forum of corporal punishment?   

It’s to exert complete physical control over a dangerous animal.

[mystery-ak]

Judge who ordered deportation flights of Venezuelan gang members be returned faces calls for impeachment
Elon Musk called the move to impeach Judge James Boasberg 'necessary'
By Alec Schemmel Fox News
Published March 17, 2025 2:08pm EDT

After Obama-appointed Judge James Boasberg issued an order Saturday halting President Donald Trump's rapid deportation of Venezuelan gang members, Texas GOP Rep. Brandon Gill swiftly announced plans to file articles of impeachment in an effort to remove him.

Gill made the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, noting he would be filing the motion this week. In a subsequent tweet from Elon Musk, the entrepreneur turned Trump advisor responded simply, "Necessary."

"The very worst judges – those who repeatedly flout the law – should at least be put to an impeachment vote, whether that vote succeeds or not," Musk followed up in a separate post on X Monday.

Republicans have been piling on Boasberg after he issued a 14-day restraining order halting the Trump administration from deporting violent Venezuelan gang members who entered the U.S. illegally, via powers laid out in the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act.

Last used during World War II, the Alien Enemies Act was implemented in advance of a potential war with the French at the time, due to fears that immigrants would sympathize with France. The law provides the president broad powers to imprison or deport noncitizens during a time of war. 

"Another day, another judge unilaterally deciding policy for the whole country. This time to benefit foreign gang members," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, posted on X. "If the Supreme Court or Congress doesn’t fix, we’re headed towards a constitutional crisis. Senate Judiciary Cmte taking action."

Boasberg's ruling came in response to a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and left-wing legal advocacy group Democracy Forward. The lawsuit alleged that Trump's intent to use his "wartime authority" to deport dangerous illegal immigrants was unlawful, since the U.S. is not in the midst of a "declared war."

The lawsuit followed a proclamation signed by Trump on Saturday, which alleged that violent gang members belonging to the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang were "conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States." Last month, Trump moved to designate a slew of Mexican drug cartels, including TdA, as "Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-who-ordered-deportations-flights-venezuelan-gang-members-returned-faces-impeachment-calls

[jafo2010]

This judge needs to be removed immediately.

I say the time has come to reduce the number of judges in the USA by 40%.  They have too much time on their hands if they think they can interfere with the operations of the executive branch of government.  Get rid of them now!!!!!!!!!

[libertybele]

This judge needs to be removed immediately.

I say the time has come to reduce the number of judges in the USA by 40%.  They have too much time on their hands if they think they can interfere with the operations of the executive branch of government.  Get rid of them now!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lando Lincoln]

This judge needs to be removed immediately.

I say the time has come to reduce the number of judges in the USA by 40%.  They have too much time on their hands if they think they can interfere with the operations of the executive branch of government.  Get rid of them now!!!!!!!!!

Hmmm… maybe this has a higher, more immediate priority for Pam Bondi than Epstein.

[Kamaji]

The judge made exactly the right decision.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

The judge made exactly the right decision.

not if he had sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

This judge needs to be removed immediately.

I say the time has come to reduce the number of judges in the USA by 40%.  They have too much time on their hands if they think they can interfere with the operations of the executive branch of government.  Get rid of them now!!!!!!!!!

just to demonstrate how low our Congress has sunk, this judge receive no negative votes during confirmation

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1121/vote_112_1_00039.htm

[Kamaji]

not if he had sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Precisely because he swore an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Your subjective political desires - stripped of any allegiance to the rule of law - do not constitute the Constitution.

[Smokin Joe]

I have disliked Boasberg for a while, now.
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/06/887593775/court-rules-that-dakota-access-pipeline-must-be-emptied-for-now
Court Rules Dakota Access Pipeline Must Be Emptied For Now

A federal judge has ruled that the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline must be emptied for now while the Army Corps of Engineers produces an environmental review.

In a decision posted Monday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said that it was clear shutting down the pipeline will cause disruption. But he said that "the seriousness of the Corps' deficiencies outweighs the negative effects of halting the oil flow" during the estimated 13 months it will take to complete the environmental impact statement.

The court vacated the Corps' decision to grant federal approval for the project, and will require the pipeline to be emptied within 30 days.

The pipeline carries roughly half a million barrels of oil per day from North Dakota. That ruling would have caused 195,000,000 barrels of oil to be hauled out by train, and would have impacted oil production in the State.

He's a Leftist tool, and likely corrupt, too. Follow the money.

[verga]

It’s to exert complete physical control over a dangerous animal.

It also breaks them mentally. You are completely subserviently and have no power at all.

[Fishrrman]

Smokin' Joe huffed:
"He's a Leftist tool, and likely corrupt, too. Follow the money."

Let the House impeachment go through on him.
Even if he won't ultimately be removed by the Senate, dig up the dirt anyway.
Bring it all out into the open, and let the light shine upon it.

[Ghost Bear]

The Act doesn't apply to the particular situation, and just saying it does doesn't change the facts.

It does apply, because Pres. Trump signed an Executive Order declaring cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations. The group Tren de Aragua is specifically mentioned in the EO. Under the laws passed by Congress post-9/11, that means he can treat them as enemy aliens subject to the Alien Enemies Act.

[Kamaji]

It does apply, because Pres. Trump signed an Executive Order declaring cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations. The group Tren de Aragua is specifically mentioned in the EO. Under the laws passed by Congress post-9/11, that means he can treat them as enemy aliens subject to the Alien Enemies Act.

No, it doesn’t apply, because regardless of how Trump classified them, they are not foreign governments, they are private organizations, and therefore do not satisfy the factual predicate requirements for application of the AEA. 

[Ghost Bear]

No, it doesn’t apply, because regardless of how Trump classified them, they are not foreign governments, they are private organizations, and therefore do not satisfy the factual predicate requirements for application of the AEA.

You are wrong, because after 9/11 Congress enacted legislation allowing the President to take action against terrorist organizations. That's how G.W. Bush was able to prosecute a war against Al Queda while they were, in your words, a "private organization".

But as I said on the other thread, the Supreme Court will ultimately decide this. What either of us has to say on the matter means nothing.

[Kamaji]

You are wrong, because after 9/11 Congress enacted legislation allowing the President to take action against terrorist organizations. That's how G.W. Bush was able to prosecute a war against Al Queda while they were, in your words, a "private organization".

But as I said on the other thread, the Supreme Court will ultimately decide this. What either of us has to say on the matter means nothing.

No, I’m not wrong, because nothing you have mentioned converted any of those terror organizations into foreign governments, and it is action by a foreign government that is required.


Is English everyone’s second language here?