Media Contact: media@asianlawcaucus.org
Trump Invocation of 1798 Wartime Law Is Illegal Abuse of Power
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. has used the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime authority, just three times in our country’s history. The last time was to incarcerate people of Japanese, German, and Italian descent in World War II camps and justify abducting and incarcerating Japanese Americans en masse.
On Saturday, President Trump issued an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act against any Venezuelan national as young as 14 who the Trump administration claims is a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Trump’s action gives himself unchecked power to disappear people without hearings or any semblance of due process.
In an emergency hearing this weekend, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that blocks the Trump administration from deporting anyone using the Alien Enemies Act and to turn around any planes in the air. Yet in a dangerous attack on our system of checks and balances, federal agencies have openly defied this judicial order – holding themselves as above the law and answerable to no one. The case against Trump’s illegal invocation of the Alien Enemies Act is scheduled to be heard on Friday, March 21 in the U.S. District in Washington, D.C.
In response, Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, said:
“There is no question: Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act is illegal. Our community knows acutely the monstrous danger of this 230-year-old wartime power. In 1983, the Asian Law Caucus was part of Fred Korematsu’s coram nobis legal team to expose the very same playbook we are confronting today: unchecked presidential power to detain and disappear communities and families, aided by racist and dehumanizing lies and baseless claims of national security. We stand in solidarity with the families and communities targeted by President Trump’s regime that is flouting the law to amass more power.
“Trump’s agenda is to spread fear and chaos based on what we look like, where we come from, or what we believe, and in the past 72 hours, the administration has defied at least two federal court orders to evade due process at the expense of working people, aspiring citizens, and all of our civil rights. When government agencies deliberately ignore court orders, they undermine the very foundation of our democracy. Family members and neighbors are being torn from their homes and communities despite judges ruling to protect them. No administration should be allowed to pick and choose which laws and court orders it follows.
“By illegally invoking the Alien Enemies Act, Trump is summarily deporting Venezuelan community members to a country many fled to escape death or torture by Tren de Aragua or the Venezuelan police. Just days before, the Trump administration deported Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Rhode Island doctor with an H1-B visa from Lebanon, in defiance of a federal court order, and unlawfully abducted Mahmoud Khalil from his home, a direct assault on our freedom to say what we believe.
“Just as Mr. Korematsu’s case inspired communities across races, languages, and cultures to organize against Trump’s first Muslim Ban, we must come together now against a regime of terror that threatens all of us, from newcomers seeking safety to long-settled communities. Every sector of our society - companies, institutions of faith and education, and state and local governments at all levels - must take action and speak out for justice and safety for all. The courts must hold President Trump accountable, and Congress must do its job, including by passing the Neighbors Not Enemies Act to repeal this arcane and abhorrent wartime power for good.”
Resources
J.G.G. v. Trump complaint and temporary restraining order (ACLU and Democracy Forward)
The Alien Enemies Act, Explained (Brennan Center)
The Neighbors Not Enemies Act (Japanese American Citizens League)