Parsing Immigration Policy The Courts Role in the Use of the Alien Enemies Act
Apr 3, 2025
38:49
This week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy discusses the Trump Administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), a rarely-used provision in U.S. law passed in 1798 that gives the president the authority to swiftly remove citizens of countries of wartime foes or countries who have made a “predatory incursion” into our territory. Last month, President Trump issued a proclamation invoking the AEA to apprehend, restrain, secure, and remove certain documented members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).
Guest host and CIS Director of Policy Studies Jessica Vaughan interviews George Fishman, CIS Senior Legal Fellow, who has been writing about the possible use of the AEA since 2023. Three main questions are highlighted during the podcast:
Guest
George Fishman is a Senior Legal Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Related
Trump Deploys the Alien Enemies Act Against Venezuela and Tren De Aragua
Tren de Aragua, the Alien Enemies Act, and the ‘State Secrets Privilege’
Alien Enemy Validation Guide
The 287(g) Program: Protecting Home Town and Homeland
Intro Montage
Voices in the opening montage:
Guest host and CIS Director of Policy Studies Jessica Vaughan interviews George Fishman, CIS Senior Legal Fellow, who has been writing about the possible use of the AEA since 2023. Three main questions are highlighted during the podcast:
- How are individuals identified for deportations via the AEA?
- What legal protections do those targeted for deportation via the AEA have?
- Who determines whether the administration has met the statutory requirements for the AEA’s use?
Guest
George Fishman is a Senior Legal Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Related
Trump Deploys the Alien Enemies Act Against Venezuela and Tren De Aragua
Tren de Aragua, the Alien Enemies Act, and the ‘State Secrets Privilege’
Alien Enemy Validation Guide
The 287(g) Program: Protecting Home Town and Homeland
Intro Montage
Voices in the opening montage:
- Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
- Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
- President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
- Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
- Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
- Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
- Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
- Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
- Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
- Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".