President Trump Will Invoke Wartime Alien Enemies Act Of 1798

President Trump is planning to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

Trump is reportedly set to invoke the law on Friday, which will authorize the government to “to authorize the summary deportation of some migrants, including to Guantanamo Bay.”

The 227-year-old law gives the president absolute authority to “order the arrest, detention and deportation of noncitizens who are 14 years or older and come from countries staging an “invasion or predatory incursion” of the U.S.”

🚨 #BREAKING: President Trump is expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which will DRAMATICALLY increase the speed of mass deportations, per CNN

THIS is what we voted for!

They’re ALL going back! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6akM4jZQGu

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 13, 2025

Here’s what CBS News reported:

President Trump is planning to invoke a wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as soon as Friday to authorize the summary deportation of some migrants, including to Guantanamo Bay, escalating his government-wide immigration crackdown, multiple U.S. officials familiar with the plan told CBS News.

The 227-year-old law gives presidents the extraordinary power to order the arrest, detention and deportation of noncitizens who are 14 years or older and come from countries staging an “invasion or predatory incursion” of the U.S.

Mr. Trump is expected to cite the 18th-century statute to order the swift detention and deportation of suspected members of the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang with prison origins that his administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Officials have made preparations to send suspected gang members to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, soon after Mr. Trump invokes the Alien Enemies Act, two of the U.S. officials said. At Mr. Trump’s direction, officials have been detaining some migrants awaiting deportation at the naval base, though the holding facilities were left empty earlier this week.

NEW: The Trump administration is expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a sweeping wartime authority, in the coming days, sources familiar w/ the move tell @priscialva @jmhansler & me

The move is designed to speed up the president’s mass deportation pledge

— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) March 13, 2025

Per CNN:

The Trump administration is expected to invoke a sweeping wartime authority to speed up the president’s mass deportation pledge in the coming days, according to four sources familiar with the discussions.

The little-known 18th-century law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, gives the president tremendous authority to target and remove undocumented immigrants, though legal experts have argued it would face an uphill battle in court.

CNN previously reported that the authority was being widely discussed at several agencies as administration officials prepared to implement the law. The primary target remains Tren de Aragua (TDA), a Venezuelan organized crime group that is now operating in the United States and other countries.