By Hank Russell
Attorney General Letitia James accused President Donald Trump of using a “bigoted, dangerous and profoundly unjust” law to deport gang members who came into this country illegally.
Over the weekend, Trump involved a little-known law called the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which authorized the president to detain or deport immigrants during an act of war. Media outlets reported that Trump deported 300 members of the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua (TDA). Once deported, the TDA gang members will be held in the Terrorism Confinement Center, a mega-prison in El Salvador.
Trump ordered the deportations under the Act, despite an order from U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg temporarily stopping the flights. The president’s legal team argued the planes were already en route to El Salvador and Honduras and could not reverse course.
James, who said that New York City is a sanctuary city and, therefore, will not honor detainers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a warrant, slammed Trump’s actions.
“Invoking the Alien Enemies Act, an extraordinary wartime power with a shameful history, to arbitrarily detain and deport immigrants is bigoted, dangerous, and profoundly unjust,” she said, adding Trump is launching “attacks on immigrants,” which are “causing fear and chaos, devastating families, and hurting local economies.”
However, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X (formerly Twitter), “TDA is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim and murder for sport. TDA is responsible for some of the most heinous crimes that have occurred on US soil in recent years, including the murders of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray. TDA is a direct threat to the national security of the United States.”
“President Trump will always put the safety of the American People first — and he will never allow foreign terrorist enemies to operate on American soil and endanger our people. They will be found, restrained and removed — and their networks will be destroyed,” Leavitt continued.
James said that protecting the immigrant community is a top priority. “My office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight back and protect the rights of immigrants in New York and across our country.”