The Alien Enemies Act and the Major Questions Doctrine

A prison guard transfers Alien Enemies Act deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Mar. 16, 2025 (El Salvador Presidential Press Office)

 

Since Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) as a tool for peacetime detention and deportation in March of this year, there has been extensive litigation over the legality of that action. The AEA allows detention and deportation of non-citizens from relevant countries (including legal immigrants) "[w]henever there is a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government." Trump has tried to use the AEA to deport Venezuelans the administration claims are members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) drug gang.