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March 17, 2025
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IRAP DECRIES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S INVOCATION OF WARTIME AUTHORITY USED TO JUSTIFY WWII INTERNMENT CAMPS
Extrajudicial removal of hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador under Alien Enemies Act violates law and court’s order
(New York, NY) – This weekend, the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA), a wartime authority notoriously used to justify the internment of individuals of Japanese descent during World War II. The AEA authorizes the President to apprehend, detain, and deport non-citizen nationals of an “enemy nation” during wartime without hearings or due process.
In an unprecedented action, President Trump invoked the AEA not against a country with which the United States is at war, but rather against Tren de Aragua (TdA), a transnational criminal organization whose influence in the United States has been greatly inflated by the Trump administration as part of its efforts to demonize immigrants. A federal court blocked the deportation of immigrants under the AEA on Saturday – including any flights that had already taken off – but the Trump administration refused to turn around two flights carrying over 250 Venezuelans to El Salvador.
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) strongly denounces the Trump administration’s unprecedented and dangerous use of this wartime authority to target Venezuelan immigrants and its flagrant violation of a federal court order blocking their removal.
Hannah Flamm, IRAP’s Interim Senior Director of Policy, issued the following statement:
“The mass internment of people during World War II on the basis of their ancestry has long been recognized as one of the most shameful chapters in this country’s history. The use of this archaic law to once again try to justify mass detentions, xenophobia, and human rights abuses is deplorable and shocking. Tren de Aragua is not a nation, the United States is not at war, and immigrants are not our enemies.
The invocation of the Alien Enemies Act is part and parcel of the Trump administration’s attempts to weaponize the law to characterize all immigrants as criminal ‘enemies’ and to deprive them of fundamental rights. Further, the Trump administration’s violation of a federal court order is profoundly alarming. The American public and the justice system will not be fooled by this cruel grandstanding.”
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a global legal aid and advocacy organization working to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. Everyone should have a safe place to live and a safe way to get there.
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