Donald Trump is considering utilizing a law from the 18th century, last employed during World War II to justify internment camps, to execute mass deportations.
Since taking office, Trump has been exploring a range of both new and historical measures to tighten immigration control in the US.
Within weeks of his inauguration, he issued a series of executive orders aimed at ‘reclaiming control’ of the country, and increased tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China to pressure them into cooperating with efforts to curb illegal immigration.
He also threatened Colombia with similar penalties for not accepting deportation flights, a tactic that appeared effective as the Colombian government permitted two planes carrying deported individuals to land, according to the BBC.
However, Trump’s strategies extend beyond these actions.
Trump has also considered revoking student visas for international students found protesting against Israel, expanding Guantanamo Bay, establishing a new detention center for deportees in Colorado, and suggested creating an exile system for repeat criminal offenders, regardless of nationality, to distant locations in a ‘modern’ penal colony concept.
Additionally, another executive order has directed US military forces to the Mexican border, with ‘border czar’ Tom Homan indicating that the number of deportations will be gradually rising.
Now, reports suggest Trump plans to invoke a wartime statute to deport individuals accused of gang membership without court hearings.
The 1798 Enemies Act was originally enacted due to espionage and sabotage fears during tensions with France, as reported by The Independent.
The law permits action in cases of ‘declared war’ or ‘any invasion or predatory incursion’ against the US by a foreign government.
Unless terminated by the President, the Enemies Act can remain in effect for an indefinite period.
The act has been invoked three times in US history. It was last used to justify internment camps for Japanese, German, and Italian citizens during World War II by President Franklin Roosevelt, who labeled them ‘alien enemies’.
In 1812, the act targeted the British, who had to report information like residence, duration in the US, and naturalization status, according to NPR.
During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson applied the act against nationals from the German Empire, Austria, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria, resulting in 6,000 ‘enemy aliens’ – mostly Germans – being interned for two years post-war, as noted by the National Archives (via NPR).
The act would allow Trump to deport migrants accused of ‘invasion or predatory incursion’ and those identified as gang members quickly, Reuters reports,
Last month, the White House confirmed in an executive order that criminal cartels like the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were being designated as terrorist organizations, enabling legal deportations under the law.
Nonetheless, Trump’s administration must contend with an overburdened immigration court system, with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (UCIS) reporting in 2023 a backlog reduction of 10 million, though some asylum claims still take years to process.
Trump’s goal of expedited removal for all illegal immigrants faces challenges as the process is only applicable to those in the US for two years or less, and migrants can still file for asylum, Reuters indicates.
The Alien Enemies Act could also encounter legal hurdles, as courts have previously been divided on defining an ‘invasion’, reports The Independent.
Following a lawsuit against the federal government in the 1990s over alleged failure to protect the state from illegal immigration, courts found no official standard for when a certain number of individuals constitute an ‘invasion’.
Lee Gelernt, a prominent attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told Reuters: “Desperate families coming to our border to seek refuge do not constitute an invasion by a foreign government within the meaning of the law.”