Refugees International Condemns Unlawful Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act
Statement from Refugees International’s Director for the Americas and Europe Yael Schacher:
“Refugees International strongly condemns President Trump’s recent invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to enact mass deportations of Venezuelan nationals, including asylum seekers, without due process.
This statute has historically been invoked only during wartime and has never been used to effectuate widespread removals. Under the Act, asylum seekers have no opportunity to dispute their alleged gang ties before they are summarily sent to potential persecution in Venezuela or to prisons in El Salvador, where torture is rampant. Invoking this law now, when war has not been declared and in relation to a foreign criminal gang, is a brazen encroachment on Congressional authority and severely undermines longstanding legal protections for immigrants and asylum seekers.
Beyond the unlawful invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, Refugees International is deeply concerned with the administration’s autocratic approach to implementation of the Act over the past few days. President Trump signed an order invoking the Act on March 14, but kept it secret as it gathered almost 250 Venezuelans for flights to El Salvador. After a judge explicitly restrained deportation flights and ordered any flight in the air to be returned, the administration allowed a flight in the air to land in El Salvador, and two further flights to land in El Salvador several hours later, while publicly condemning the court ruling and vilifying the judge in the media.
Refugees International is deeply concerned by the administration’s disregard of the court’s ruling and for potential irreparable harm to those individuals deported. The use of the antiquated Alien Enemies Act is particularly appalling. The Act represents some of the darkest chapters in U.S. history and it has no place in the contemporary United States. The administration’s use of this act to assert a dangerous expansion of executive power is a deeply ominous sign.”
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Etant Dupain at edupain@refugeesinternational.org.