Trump Invokes Alien Enemies Act of 1798, Targeting Violent Unauthorized Migrants
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President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 on Saturday to target immigrant street gangs, particularly the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).
The Details: The Alien Enemies Act, passed in 1798, was last invoked during World War II. It grants the president sweeping powers to order the detention and deportation of citizens or natives of an "enemy" nation without following the usual processes. So far, of the 261 Venezuelans deported to a mega jail in El Salvador, 137 were removed under the Alien Enemies Act. The move has sparked criticism from human rights groups.
For Context: This is the first time Trump has used this act, although he has mentioned it in the past. In his inaugural address, he stated he would use the act to "eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to US soil."
How the Media Covered It: Fox News (Right bias) highlighted Trump's commitment to eliminating criminal networks causing devastation on U.S. soil. Associated Press (Lean Left) wrote that the argument over whether "illegal immigration constitute(s) an invasion" is an "untested" one, and noted that a federal judge halted the order for deportations hours later. Editor's Note: a previous version of this summary referred to "illegal" immigrants. AllSides uses "unauthorized" to describe people who are in the US without legal status.
Revised by the AllSides staff (of humans) after a first draft from our custom AI. Learn more.