President Donald Trump is considering utilizing the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to expedite the deportation of alleged gang members without court hearings, a move that could significantly escalate his immigration crackdown efforts. This wartime law, not used since World War Two for internment camps, could allow Trump to bypass due process rights and swiftly remove migrants deemed as threats. Trump’s administration has already redirected military resources and empowered immigration officers to make more arrests, including in sensitive locations like schools and hospitals, despite opposition from civil and immigrant rights groups.

The potential use of the Alien Enemies Act would mark a novel application of the law to target migrants as part of an “invasion or predatory incursion.” The administration aims to designate criminal cartels and gangs as terrorist organizations under this law, including the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The challenge of deporting hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, particularly due to strained U.S.-Venezuela relations, adds complexity to the enforcement efforts.

While Trump’s administration faces legal challenges and opposition from Democratic lawmakers and civil rights groups, it is pushing to expand detention space both domestically and at Guantanamo Bay. Despite a backlog of 3.6 million cases in immigration courts, the administration aims to ramp up deportations through a combination of detention expansions and the potential use of the Alien Enemies Act. Trump’s approach, characterized by a more deliberate strategy compared to his first term, is seen as a calculated move to increase the likelihood of legal success, particularly with a conservative-leaning Supreme Court.