U.S. President Donald Trump has invoked a centuries-old immigration law to ramp up deportations of undocumented migrants amid signs of frustration within the administration over the pace of efforts to deliver on one of his top priorities.
Trump invoked powers under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — a law once used to justify the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II — in a proclamation Saturday targeting Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang also designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
Many of Tren de Aragua’s members “have unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions” against the country, Trump said in the proclamation. The president also argued the operation is engaging in “mass illegal migration to the United States” in a bid to harm the country’s citizens, undermine public safety and support efforts by Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro to destabilize democratic nations.