Last night, I was in D.C. for an emergency hearing in response to the latest developments in our case against the government’s unprecedented and illegal use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants in peacetime based on “gang allegations.” In a shocking move, the government refused to answer the majority of the judge’s questions.
We’re continuing to demand answers about how people ended up in a prison in El Salvador after a court ordered the government to halt their removals, including if they were already airborne and en route at the time. Here’s what to know:
- First: On Saturday morning, along with the ACLU of D.C. and Democracy Forward, we filed suit against the Trump administration over the unlawful and unprecedented invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to conduct mass deportations.
- Then: We successfully argued in court late Saturday night for an emergency, temporary block on immigrant removals using the Alien Enemies Act.
- Now: Despite the court’s order, reports indicate that people were still being removed from the United States. Last night, the government refused to answer the majority of questions asked during an emergency court hearing. As a result, the judge has given the government until noon today to disclose more information about what actually happened following his rulings.
To be clear, the Alien Enemies Act is a centuries-old wartime authority that has correctly drawn criticism – it’s only been used three times in history, and the last was in WWII to justify the internment of people of Japanese ancestry.
This authority has only been used by past presidents during times of war to apprehend, restrain, and remove citizens of a foreign country IF they are engaged in a “declared war” or “invasion” against the United States.
The United States is not at war, nor has it been invaded. That’s why the court blocked Trump’s abuse of this authority in the first place – and why we’ll continue to fight the administration’s extreme and illegal move.
We’ll be back soon with further updates and, as always, thank you for fighting alongside us.
Lee Gelernt
Pronouns: He, him, his
Lead Counsel in the D.C. case
Deputy Director of ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project
ACLU of Washington
P.O. Box 2728
Seattle, WA 98111-2728