The March 14 invocation, featuring Trump’s signature, is listed as a presidential action on the White House website, which says it was issued by the president. The official Rapid Response 47 X account also said the invocation was signed by Trump. The original act was signed in 1798 by President John Adams.
“I don’t know when it was signed ’cause I didn’t sign it. Other people handled it. But Marco Rubio’s done a great job, and he wanted them out, and we go along with that,” Trump told reporters.
The White House said later on Friday that Trump wasn’t referring to the invocation, but the original act signed by Adams.
“President Trump was obviously referring to the original Alien Enemies Act that was signed back in 1798,” the White House told CNN. “The recent Executive Order was personally signed by President Trump invoking the Alien Enemies Act that designated Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in order to apprehend and deport these heinous criminals.”
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 has mainly been invoked during wartime in order for the federal government to control immigration of the United States’s enemies. While the U.S. isn’t at war with Venezuela, the Trump administration said Tren De Aragua is associated with the nation and has conducted “irregular warfare” against the U.S.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has ordered the Trump administration to halt deportation flights using the Alien Enemies Act pending a legal challenge. The Trump administration allegedly defied his order, allowing two deportation flights carrying some Tren De Aragua members to deport the migrants to El Salvador.
Boasberg vowed during a hearing that he should lift his temporary restrining order on deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act and that he would find out whether Trump administration officials violated his order by carrying out the flights.
“I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order — who ordered this and what the consequences will be,” Boasberg said on Friday.
He expressed concern about the Trump administration’s use of the old law. Boasberg said the policy implications of Trump invoking the law “are awfully frightening.”
Trump called for Boasberg to be impeached after the judge blocked the deportation flights.
“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President — He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts indirectly criticized Trump for his slam of Boasberg.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in a statement released by the Supreme Court. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
