Alien Enemies Act invoked for peacetime removals without hearings
Enacted6/10
⚖ Most removals blocked; due process required
Federal · Proclamation 10903 · Signed Mar 14, 2025
Impact 6/10
Proclamation 10903, signed March 14, 2025, invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 for the first time outside a declared war, designating alleged Venezuelan Tren de Aragua members age 14 and up for apprehension and removal without standard immigration proceedings. The next day about 238 Venezuelan men were flown to El Salvador's CECOT prison without hearings. The Supreme Court subsequently required that detainees receive notice and a chance to seek habeas review, lower courts blocked most further removals under the act, and the men held in El Salvador were sent to Venezuela in a July 2025 prisoner exchange.
ImmigrationPolicing & justiceWorking-age adultsMenImmigrants
Sources
✓ Verified against primary sources 2026-08-16