American Immigration Council — Why Trump’s Use of the Alien Enemies Act Matters for America
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Why Trump’s Use of the Alien Enemies Act Matters for America
The Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act has been held up in court for now, amid an escalating legal battle over the government’s compliance with a judicial order. But the importance of the Alien Enemies Act declaration isn’t just because of the court battle, or because the first planeload of deportees was sent to provide forced labor in a prison in El Salvador. If the Trump administration prevails, it will be allowed to resume deportations of Venezuelan men under the act—to El Salvador or any other country that will take them—without giving them any chance of a hearing or even the opportunity to know the evidence against them.