How can the Alien Enemies Act impact Arizona?
PHOENIX - Will President Donald Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act have an impact on Arizona? The act hasn't been used since World War II.
What we know:
On Saturday, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, using the historic law to authorize the deportation of individuals linked to a Venezuelan gang. However, a federal judge intervened hours later, blocking the deportations outlined in Trump's directive.
The act grants broad wartime powers, enabling the deportation of non-citizens without the chance to appear before an immigration or federal court judge.
Those in support of President Donald Trump say this is the kind of immigration policy enforcement that won him the election, while others say the move is not following the correct due process as the law is required to follow a declaration of war.
The act, which dates back to the 18th century, allows a president to detain, remove, or deport non-citizens of the U.S., but it does also require the country the non-citizens are from to be a wartime enemy of the U.S., which Venezuela is not at this time.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen says Trump campaigned on promises of mass deportations of unlawful citizens, and this is just a fulfillment of those promises, and allows for the removal of dangerous people threatening American safety.
Meanwhile, political consultant Tyler Montague, fears the act could balloon into acts against other immigrant groups who are either incorrectly labeled gang members or terrorists, or coerced into ICE custody.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and political consultant Tyler Montague
What they're saying:
"Trump won the popular vote and the electoral vote because Americans want him to make America safe again. He is the commander-in-chief, and he told us that this is what he was going to do. The Tren de Aragua gang is a terrorist organization. They are enemies to our country, so any of these arguments that they have any of these specific rights are just false," Petersen said.
Montague says, "I think it's a stretch of its original intent to be used in this case. I think there's a general consensus that if he's going after violent criminal gangs, then that's a good thing to be doing, with due process, right? The danger here is that he can label anybody a dangerous gang member and send you to Guantánamo."
Petersen says Trump's move was lawful.
"Trump is invoking the law and following the law and his actions should be upheld in court."
Beyond the policy, Montague says the White House's actions are destroying families.
"The judge tried to stop them, and they said, ‘Oops, our bad, we already did it.’ So that's not the careful, due process and following of the law that I think people expect," he said. "You have families being torn apart and a lot of stress and fear in this community and that's not good. There's not a orderly way that they're going about it. It seems haphazard and doesn't make too much sense. It makes sense to everybody that they would go after dangerous criminals and that they would reform some broken processes, but what doesn't make sense is when they tear apart, for example, the mixed-status family."
Petersen, meanwhile, says deportations should not surprise any illegal immigrant regardless of their family situation.
"From what I've heard, those who are following the legal process, they're being approved. Those who are here illegally, though, you should not be surprised if you face the specter of deportation. That is the risk you took by breaking the federal laws," Petersen said.
What's next:
Fox News reports that 261 people were deported to El Salvador on Saturday, and 137 of them were sent via this Alien Enemies Act.
Montague says there are implications already being felt in Arizona, while Petersen says he isn't aware of any non-terrorists who are seeing the effects of this act.
What you can do:
You can read more about the act by clicking here.