Why has Donald Trump invoked the 18th century wartime law, the Alien Enemies act, last used in World War II?

In his latest bid to flex his fascist muscles, Donald Trump has gone digging through the compost heap of history and pulled out the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Yes, a law so old it predates electric lights, and so sinister it was last invoked to justify the internment of entire ethnic groups during World War II.

Thankfully, sanity has prevailed (at least temporarily). On March 15, 2025, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order halting Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. Just hours earlier, Trump had invoked this wartime law to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. The administration’s proclamation declared these immigrants to be an “invasion” force carrying out “irregular warfare” against the United States.

Before the orange shitmonkey starts lying in a few minutes, this is the Alien Enemies Act. It states clearly we have to be at war or conflict with another nation and citizens of that nation can be enemy aliens….. pic.twitter.com/s8dNZvDj38

— Hedy Salazar (@queeniema52) March 14, 2025

Some deportation flights were already in the air when the judge made his ruling. Boasberg ordered those flights to turn around and bring the deportees back to the U.S. His exact words? “However that’s accomplished.” The Constitution called, and it’s pissed!

The Alien Enemies Act itself was one of four pieces of legislation passed in 1798 as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were designed to suppress dissent and target immigrants during a period of heightened political paranoia. It allows the president to detain, deport, or restrict the movements of non-citizens from countries the U.S. is at war with. The law is as old as John Adams’ presidency.

Adams, facing the quasi-war with France, enacted this law to detain and deport foreign nationals from enemy countries when America was literally at war or on the brink. While it might have seemed reasonable at the time — well, okay, not really, because even then Thomas Jefferson and James Madison vehemently condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts as tyrannical abuses — the law gradually morphed into a dark stain on American civil liberties.

Remember that when the alien enemies act was used last, they built concentration camps https://t.co/VQxjkRIhGZ pic.twitter.com/4koCmRDcAc

— T.L. Autumn 🏙 🌧 🦔 🟡 (@Seattleite12) March 15, 2025

During World War II, this law was shamefully deployed to intern thousands of Japanese, German, and Italian nationals, stripping them of their dignity, freedom, and property without due process. History, unsurprisingly, has not been kind to these episodes. And yet, despite its archaic and oppressive nature, the Alien Enemies Act has never been repealed.

Trump’s justification for invoking this law centers on the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang that has gained notoriety for its involvement in organized crime, extortion, and violence. The gang’s origins trace back to a Venezuelan prison, and as millions of Venezuelans fled their country’s economic collapse over the past decade, the gang’s influence reportedly spread across South and Central America.

Yes, the Tren de Aragua is a problem. Authorities in various countries have arrested their members for crimes ranging from human trafficking to contract killings. But Trump isn’t targeting this gang because he’s suddenly developed a passion for combating international organized crime. He’s targeting them because they’re a perfect political scapegoat — an easy way to stoke fear and justify his broader anti-immigration agenda.

If Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act is upheld in court, it could set a terrifying precedent. Immigrants could be deported without the hearings and legal protections that are supposed to safeguard against wrongful deportation. This is the same administration who, in a previous order, tried to give the White House control over the performance of independent agencies. And if we’ve learned anything from history, it’s that such power is inevitably abused.