Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 68 members of violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua this week, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security.
“In less than 100 days, the Trump Administration has arrested 394 members of the Tren De Aragua—a vicious gang known for human trafficking, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and other heinous acts terrorizing American communities,” the report states.
Tren de Aragua, a gang that originated in the Venezuelan state of Aragua before spreading across Latin America and into the US, was designated a terrorist organization by President Trump last month.
“This has allowed a whole of government approach to dismantle this criminal terrorist gang,” the agency said.
“Members of this vicious terrorist gang are responsible for the brutal assault and murder of nursing student Laken Riley and 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.”
Last weekend, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the deportation of members of Tren de Aragua.
The order states that the group “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.”
The order describes how Tren de Aragua “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.” The gang is involved in “irregular warfare” against the US, the order continues.
Under the Alien Enemies Act, which was first issued in response to the threat of war with France, the President would have the power to allow non-citizens to be deported without the opportunity to appear before an immigration or federal judge.
Since 1798, the act has been used only three times: during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II, when it was used to inter people of German, Italian and Japanese ancestry. Over 100,000 people with Japanese ancestry were interred in camps between 1941 and 1945, including American citizens.
Within hours of the President’s order being issued, and Obama judge revoked it and ruled that deportation flights in the air, including a plan bound for El Salvador, must be turned around. The planes continued to their destinations, and the White House later issued a statement saying the flights were not in violation of the judge’s order and that it would be challenged in the Supreme Court.
Trump said on a number of occasions during the election campaign that he would use extraordinary powers to remove illegal aliens.
In his inaugural address, the President said the Alien Enemies Act would be a key part of his immigration policy.
“By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil,” he said.
“As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions.”
