Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua

Proclamations

TLDR

This proclamation declares members of Tren de Aragua (TdA) as “Alien Enemies” subject to apprehension, detention, and removal from the US. It targets Venezuelan TdA members age 14+ who aren’t naturalized citizens or permanent residents, authorizes immediate detention and deportation, prohibits their entry into the US, and allows property seizure. The order grants broad enforcement powers to the Attorney General and DHS Secretary.

President Donald J. Trump has issued a proclamation declaring members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, as “Alien Enemies” subject to apprehension, detention, and removal from the United States. This executive order is based on the Alien Enemies Act and cites TdA’s alleged involvement in irregular warfare, hostile actions, and invasion of the United States.

Key Points of the Proclamation:

  • The proclamation states that TdA is perpetrating an invasion and conducting irregular warfare against the United States, in conjunction with the Maduro regime in Venezuela.

  • Venezuelan citizens aged 14 or older who are TdA members, within the US, and not naturalized or lawful permanent residents, are declared Alien Enemies.

  • Enforcement measures:

    • Immediate apprehension, detention, and removal of designated Alien Enemies
    • Prohibition of entry or presence within US territory
    • Seizure and forfeiture of property used in TdA’s activities

  • The Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security are directed to execute the regulations, with authority to utilize various government agencies and officers.

This proclamation represents a significant escalation in the US approach to transnational criminal organizations and immigration enforcement. It raises several concerns:

  • The order applies to individuals as young as 14, which may conflict with international norms on the treatment of minors.

  • The proclamation allows for “summary apprehension,” which could potentially bypass normal legal procedures.

  • This action may further strain US-Venezuela relations and impact regional diplomacy.

  • The broad authority for detention and removal without clear oversight mechanisms could lead to human rights violations.

  • The use of the Alien Enemies Act, primarily used during wartime, may face legal scrutiny in peacetime application.

While TdA is a serious criminal organization, characterizing their activities as an “invasion” may be an overstatement of their capabilities and intent. The inclusion of minors as young as 14 in this order is also unusual and may not align with international standards for treating juvenile offenders.

The proclamation grants extensive powers to law enforcement, which could potentially lead to overreach or abuse if not properly monitored. And, while there are links between TdA and the Maduro regime, the extent of state control over the organization may be overstated.

While addressing transnational crime is important, this proclamation’s broad scope and potential for rights violations raise significant concerns. Its implementation and legal standing will likely face challenges in the coming months.

REFERENCES

  • 2025-04-09: Trump’s legal blueprint for disappearing anyone in U.S. — The Trump administration has submitted a legal brief to the US Supreme Court arguing that it has the authority to deport anyone, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, without due process and that federal courts have no power to order their return. The administration claims that once an individual is deported to another country, the US government loses its responsibility to bring them back, even if they were removed in error. If the Supreme Court grants this argument, it would effectively allow the creation of a “black site” where people can be indefinitely detained and subjected to torture and death without any judicial oversight or accountability.
  • 2025-04-07: Trump Has Revoked Student Visas at Dozens of Colleges. Here’s What That Means. — The Trump administration has revoked visas and ended the legal statuses of dozens of international students at colleges across the US, with at least 147 students affected. The revocations often occurred without prior notice to the students or their institutions, leaving them uncertain about their status and future in the country. Colleges are now offering support to affected students, but some may be reluctant to oppose the administration’s orders due to concerns over federal funding cuts.
  • 2025-04-01: Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “NEW: @aclu.org obtained ICE’s “Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide,” confirming all it takes to be sent to rot in prison in El Salvador is being Venezuelan and 1) having a tattoo an ICE officer says is a “gang tattoo” and 2) displaying “logos,” “symbols” or clothes an ICE officer says are gang signs.” | Bluesky — The ACLU has obtained a copy of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) validation guide for its “Alien Enemies Act,” which allows for the detention of Venezuelans deemed members of the alleged gang Tren de Aragua (TDA). To be validated as a member, individuals must score at least 8 points on an arbitrary scoring system, with criteria including tattoos, social media posts, and associations with known TDA members. Critics argue that this system is subjective, biased against Venezuelans, and can lead to innocent people being detained without concrete evidence.
  • 2025-03-30: Florida college fires Chinese professor under state’s ‘countries of concern’ law | Trump administration | The Guardian — The New College of Florida has fired Chinese professor Kevin Wang under state law SB 846, which restricts hiring individuals from “countries of concern” without approval. The college cited the law as the reason for Wang’s termination, despite his asylum bid and authorization to work in the US. Wang had been teaching at the university since May 2022, after fleeing persecution in China due to his criticism of the Chinese Communist Party.
  • 2025-03-30: SCOOP: ICE Revoking Students’ Immigration Statuses Without Their or the University’s Knowledge — The Trump administration is quietly revoking the immigration status of hundreds of international students without their knowledge or that of their universities, using a rarely-used provision to target students from the Middle East and Muslim-majority countries. This practice, which has been occurring in recent days, appears to be an attempt to deport students based on the claim that their presence would have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the US. University officials and students are expressing alarm over the lack of notification and oversight, with some reporting that student residency statuses were changed without their knowledge or that of university staff.
  • 2025-03-30: Johns Hopkins: faculty shouldn’t intervene in ICE detainments | The Baltimore Banner — Johns Hopkins University has instructed its faculty and staff not to intervene if federal law enforcement officers arrive on campus to detain a community member, including those who are undocumented or have been targeted by immigration authorities. The university’s guidance advises employees to remain calm, contact public safety, and not engage with federal officers in non-public areas. This move comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signed over 300 letters revoking visas for students and others deemed “opposition” to American foreign policy, including those who have expressed support for Palestinian rights.
  • 2025-03-29: The Retired J.P. Morgan Executive Tracking Trump’s Deportation Flights | The Atlantic — Tom Cartwright, a retired J.P. Morgan executive, has become a key source for tracking and documenting U.S. deportation flights under President Trump’s administration, using publicly available data from aviation tracking sites to compile weekly and monthly reports on ICE flight activity. Cartwright’s work has been cited by think tanks and legal organizations, and he has become the go-to source for understanding the administration’s immigration crackdown, despite his modest approach to his role in the nation’s immigration furor. His database shows that ICE has carried out 267 deportation flights under Trump, with a significant increase in military-transport planes being used at an unprecedented rate.
  • 2025-03-29: What California schools are telling their students ahead of travel ban — The Trump administration’s travel ban could impact international students from over 40 countries who are barred or limited from entry into the US, and several universities in California are urging their students to reconsider traveling abroad due to the uncertainty surrounding the policy. The University of California, Berkeley, has stated that it does not recommend international travel for personal or professional reasons, while other universities such as UCLA and UC San Diego have warned students to carefully evaluate their travel plans. The ban could affect over 1.12 million international students in California, who fear being targeted based on their nationality and losing their visas and degrees.
  • 2025-03-28: Trump Admin Spies on Social Media of Student Visa Holders — The US government has issued a directive requiring consular officers to conduct social media reviews of foreign students studying in or seeking to study in the US. The review aims to assess whether applicants have ties to terrorist organizations or advocate for their activities, and may refer cases to the Fraud Prevention Unit for further investigation if derogatory information is found. This new policy applies to F, M, and J student visa holders, including those participating in pro-Hamas events, and has sparked concerns about increased surveillance of Palestinian students.
  • 2025-03-28: Families concerned over living conditions at Krome Detention Center Miami | NBC 6 South Florida — Families of detainees being held at Krome Detention Center are speaking out about the alleged harsh conditions of the facility, including lack of food, water, and medical attention. A viral video shows people sleeping on the floor, while another detainee pleads for help due to a severe lack of food. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has acknowledged temporary overcrowding concerns but claims it is taking measures to manage capacity and maintain humane treatment.
  • 2025-03-21: Trump says he didn’t sign proclamation invoking Alien Enemies Act | CNN Politics — President Trump denied signing a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants, claiming “other people handled it” despite the document appearing in the Federal Register with his signature. The White House later claimed Trump was referring to the original 1798 law, while Judge Boasberg expressed concerns about the administration’s actions and vowed to investigate whether officials violated his orders temporarily blocking deportations.
  • 2025-03-16: Brown University Professor and Doctor Are Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order | The New York Times — Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese kidney transplant specialist and Brown University professor with a valid visa, was deported from the United States despite a court order temporarily blocking her expulsion. Customs and Border Protection officers detained her at Boston Logan International Airport for 36 hours before putting her on a flight to Paris, apparently in defiance of Judge Leo T. Sorokin’s order requiring 48 hours’ notice before deportation.
  • 2025-03-25: California couple deported after 35 years in the U.S. — A California couple, Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, who have lived in the US for 35 years with no criminal records, were deported to Colombia after being detained on February 21. The couple had pursued legal paths to remain in the country but ultimately exhausted their options, leaving them without a way to stay in the US. A GoFundMe page set up by their daughter has raised over $70,000 to help support the family during this transition.
  • 2025-03-16: US deports hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador despite court order — The US deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador despite a federal judge ordering a halt to the deportations, with El Salvador’s President Bukele confirming the arrival of 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and 23 members of MS-13. The deportations were carried out under Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows for deportation without due process of individuals deemed threats to national security. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Bukele for accepting the deportees, calling him “the strongest security leader in our region,” while Bukele indicated the detainees would be held in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center for at least a year.
  • 2025-03-15: Judge blocks Trump from using Alien Enemies Act to deport five Venezuelan men — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport five Venezuelans, implementing a temporary restraining order for 14 days. Judge James E. Boasberg noted that the ruling was to preserve the status quo amid concerns about the emergency powers invoked under the act. The Trump administration appealed the restraining order, arguing it would hinder presidential power before the act was officially announced. Litigation over the Alien Enemies Act raises concerns due to its previous use only during wartime, requiring a formal declaration of war.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION

Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with thousands of members, many of whom have unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States. TdA operates in conjunction with Cártel de los Soles, the Nicolas Maduro regime-sponsored, narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela, and commits brutal crimes, including murders, kidnappings, extortions, and human, drug, and weapons trafficking. TdA has engaged in and continues to engage in mass illegal migration to the United States to further its objectives of harming United States citizens, undermining public safety, and supporting the Maduro regime’s goal of destabilizing democratic nations in the Americas, including the United States.

TdA is closely aligned with, and indeed has infiltrated, the Maduro regime, including its military and law enforcement apparatus. TdA grew significantly while Tareck El Aissami served as governor of Aragua between 2012 and 2017. In 2017, El Aissami was appointed as Vice President of Venezuela. Soon thereafter, the United States Department of the Treasury designated El Aissami as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, 21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq. El Aissami is currently a United States fugitive facing charges arising from his violations of United States sanctions triggered by his Department of the Treasury designation.

Like El Aissami, Nicolas Maduro, who claims to act as Venezuela’s President and asserts control over the security forces and other authorities in Venezuela, also maintains close ties to regime-sponsored narco-terrorists. Maduro leads the regime-sponsored enterprise Cártel de los Soles, which coordinates with and relies on TdA and other organizations to carry out its objective of using illegal narcotics as a weapon to “flood” the United States. In 2020, Maduro and other regime members were charged with narcoterrorism and other crimes in connection with this plot against America.

Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have ceded ever-greater control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA. The result is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States, and which poses a substantial danger to the United States. Indeed, in December 2024, INTERPOL Washington confirmed: “Tren de Aragua has emerged as a significant threat to the United States as it infiltrates migration flows from Venezuela.” Evidence irrefutably demonstrates that TdA has invaded the United States and continues to invade, attempt to invade, and threaten to invade the country; perpetrated irregular warfare within the country; and used drug trafficking as a weapon against our citizens.

Based upon a review of TdA’s activities, and in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, on February 20, 2025, acting pursuant to the authority in 8 U.S.C. 1189, the Secretary of State designated TdA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

As President of the United States and Commander in Chief, it is my solemn duty to protect the American people from the devastating effects of this invasion. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Alien Enemies Act, 50 U.S.C. 21 et seq., hereby proclaim and direct as follows:

Section 1. I find and declare that TdA is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States. TdA is undertaking hostile actions and conducting irregular warfare against the territory of the United States both directly and at the direction, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. I make these findings using the full extent of my authority to conduct the Nation’s foreign affairs under the Constitution. Based on these findings, and by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including 50 U.S.C. 21, I proclaim that all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of TdA, are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies. I further find and declare that all such members of TdA are, by virtue of their membership in that organization, chargeable with actual hostility against the United States and are therefore ineligible for the benefits of 50 U.S.C. 22. I further find and declare that all such members of TdA are a danger to the public peace or safety of the United States.

Sec. 2. I direct the Attorney General, within 60 days of the date of this proclamation, to prepare and publish a letter under her signature declaring the policy described in section 1 of this proclamation as the policy of the United States and attaching this proclamation. I direct the Attorney General to transmit this letter to the Chief Justice of the United States, the chief judge of every circuit court of appeals, the chief judge of every district and territorial court of the United States, each Governor of a State and territory of the United States, and the highest-ranking judicial officer of each State and territory of the United States.

Sec. 3. I direct that all Alien Enemies described in section 1 of this proclamation are subject to immediate apprehension, detention, and removal, and further that they shall not be permitted residence in the United States.

Sec. 4. Pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, consistent with applicable law, apprehend, restrain, secure, and remove every Alien Enemy described in section 1 of this proclamation. The Secretary of Homeland Security retains discretion to apprehend and remove any Alien Enemy under any separate authority.

Sec. 5. All executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall collaborate with law enforcement officials of the United States and with appropriate State, local, and tribal officials, to use all lawful means to apprehend, restrain, secure, and remove Alien Enemies described in section 1 of this proclamation.

Sec. 6. Pursuant to my authority under 50 U.S.C. 21 to direct the conduct to be observed on the part of the United States toward the Alien Enemies subject to this proclamation, to direct the manner and degree of the restraint to which such Alien Enemies shall be subject and in what cases, to provide for the removal of such Alien Enemies, and to establish any other regulations which are found necessary “in the premises and for the public safety,” I hereby direct the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to execute all the regulations hereinafter contained regarding the Alien Enemies described in section 1 of this proclamation. The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security are further directed to cause the apprehension, detention, and removal of all members of TdA who otherwise qualify as Alien Enemies under section 1 of this proclamation. The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security are authorized to take all necessary actions under the Alien Enemies Act to effectuate this proclamation, consistent with applicable law. In doing so, and for such purpose, they are authorized to utilize agents, agencies, and officers of the United States Government and of the several States, territories, dependencies, and municipalities thereof and of the District of Columbia. All such agents, agencies, and officers are hereby granted full authority for all acts done by them in the execution of such regulations when acting by direction of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as the case may be.

Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Alien Enemies Act, 50 U.S.C. 21 et seq., I hereby declare and establish the following regulations which I find necessary “in the premises and for the public safety”:

(a) No Alien Enemy described in section 1 of this proclamation shall enter, attempt to enter, or be found within any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Any such Alien Enemy who enters, attempts to enter, or is found within such territory shall be immediately apprehended and detained until removed from the United States. All such Alien Enemies, wherever found within any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, are subject to summary apprehension.

(b) Alien Enemies apprehended pursuant to this proclamation shall be subject to detention until removed from the United States in such place of detention as may be directed by the officers responsible for the execution of these regulations.

© Alien Enemies shall be subject to removal to any such location as may be directed by the officers responsible for the execution of these regulations consistent with applicable law.

(d) All property in the possession of, or traceable to, an Alien Enemy, which is used, intended to be used, or is commonly used to perpetrate the hostile activity and irregular warfare of TdA, along with evidence of such hostile activity and irregular warfare, shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture.

The Attorney General is further granted authority, pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act and 3 U.S.C. 301, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to issue any guidance necessary to effectuate the prompt apprehension, detention, and removal of all Alien Enemies described in section 1 of this proclamation. Any such guidance shall be effective immediately upon issuance by the Attorney General.
This proclamation and the directives and regulations prescribed herein shall extend and apply to all land and water, continental or insular, in any way within the jurisdiction of the United States.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.