Trump prepares to use controversial 1798 ‘Alien Enemies’ law to speed deportations

The Trump administration is preparing to invoke a sweeping wartime authority to speed up the president’s mass deportation pledge, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

The Trump administration is preparing to invoke a sweeping wartime authority to speed up the president’s mass deportation pledge, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump said that he planned to invoke a little-known, 18th-century law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, as part of his sweeping slate of immigration crackdowns. The measure gives the president tremendous authority to target and remove undocumented immigrants, though legal experts have argued it would face an uphill battle in court. The move is being widely discussed at several agencies as administration officials look at how they could implement the law, three sources told CNN, though details are still being finalized and it’s unclear when the administration would move to invoke it. The primary target as of now, according to three sources, is the Tren de Aragua gang, which was also recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization. “Labeling Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization was the first step,” a senior White House official told CNN. In the final weeks of his 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to invoke the act to deport suspected criminal gangs and members drug cartels. He often referred to Tren de Aragua, and the exaggerated, disputed claims that the Venezuelan gang had “invaded” and “conquered” Aurora, Colorado — to serve as justification for wanting to implement the 18th century wartime law.