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              Congressional                                              ______
            *Research Service
               inforng   the  qeislative debate since 1914___________________




The Alien Enemy Act: History and Potential

Use to Remove Members of International

Criminal Cartels



Updated April 2, 2025

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order (E.O.) declaring a national emergency
pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to address the threat to U.S.
national security posed by international cartels and certain transnational organizations. The E.O. states
that such organizations are engaged in a destabilizing campaign of violence and terror throughout the
Western Hemisphere and directed the Secretary of State and other Cabinet members to designate certain
international cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations or specially designated
global terrorists under Executive Order 13224 for supporting international terrorism. On February 20,
2025, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury,
designated several international cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, including the organization
known  as Tren de Aragua (TdA).
The E.O. also directed the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, to make operational preparations within 14 days to implement any decision the
President may make to invoke the Alien Enemy Act (also called the Alien Enemies Act) of 1798 to
remove aliens designated as engaging in any qualifying invasion or predatory incursion against the
territory of the United States by a qualifying actor. The E.O. does not define qualifying invasion or
qualifying actor. On March 14, 2025, President Trump invoked the Act, declaring that TdA is
perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the
United States. The President's proclamation directed 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. On March 15, 2025, a lawsuit was filed, arguing, among other things, that the Act does
not provide the President with the authority to remove individuals from the United States under these
circumstances.
This Legal Sidebar provides a historical overview of the Alien Enemy Act and discusses the potential
implications of invoking the Act to remove members of international crime cartels and other transnational
organizations from the United States. This Legal Sidebar also briefly discusses the current litigation

                                                                Congressional Research Service
                                                                  https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                     LSB11269

CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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