President Donald Trump on Saturday invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II, granting himself sweeping powers under a centuries-old law to deport people associated with a Venezuelan gang. Hours later, a federal judge halted ...

A federal appeals court ruled the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 can’t be used to deport members of Tren de Aragua, which has been a target of the Trump administration. The act was established to give presidents more power to deport and incarcerate ...

President Donald Trump loves the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. At a campaign rally in Arizona in 2024, Trump said that when he was elected president he would use the act to target undocumented criminal immigrants. “Think of that—1798,” he said with a laugh.

Trump administration officials briefed lawmakers this week on a new legal opinion justifying the operation to capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.