Update: Thanks to a lawsuit, JGG v Trump, filed by several Venezuelans represented by the ACLU and Democracy Forward, a federal judge quickly blocked the Proclamation on a temporary basis. The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal, which is currently pending. In the meantime, the court has scheduled another hearing for March 21, 2025. Based on the federal court order blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, no person should be deported from the U.S. for the next 14 days based on this Proclamation (but can be deported under other laws). However, Venezuelans who the U.S. government considers to be within the scope of this Proclamation may still be detained. The Trump administration appears to have defied the court order, though, which is a very serious usurpation of power by Trump and a threat to a cornerstone of U.S. democracy, the separation of powers.
What happened?
In a Proclamation issued on March 15, 2025, Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against Venezuelan citizens living in the United States who the Trump administration accuses (correctly or incorrectly) of being members of the Tren De Aragua (TdA). TdA is a transnational criminal organization that originated in Venezuela; the United States recently designated TdA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The Proclamation declares that “all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of TdA, are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States” are “Alien Enemies” who shall be “subject to immediate apprehension, detention, and removal” and “not . . . permitted residence in the United States.” The Proclamation does not specify how the government will make determinations as to TdA membership.
Here is what you should know now:
The Alien Enemies Act is a wartime authority that can be used only when the U.S. is under attack or invasion from an “enemy” country. It allows the U.S. government to quickly deport citizens or nationals from an “enemy” nation in order to protect the country. It has been used only three times throughout the history of the United States, and all in wartime: during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. In both World Wars, this law was used to justify the detention and deportation of German, Austro-Hungarian, Japanese, and Italian immigrants based solely on their nationality. It is also the law that laid the foundation for internment of American citizens of Japanese ancestry during and after World War II.
If you are a Venezuelan citizen who is 14 years or older and you are not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident (LPR), you may be impacted by this Proclamation. The Proclamation states that it applies only to individuals who the U.S. government declares to be “members of TdA.” However, because the determination of membership in TdA is up to the U.S. government’s discretion, early reports indicate the government may seek to apply the Proclamation broadly to many Venezuelan immigrants in the United States who are 14 years old or older and neither a U.S. citizen nor an LPR and have no connection to TdA.
If the court order blocking this Proclamation is lifted, Venezuelans without lawful permanent residence in the U.S. are at risk of shadow deportations without access to the normal rights that they should have in the immigration process, including a hearing, a neutral judge, and access to a lawyer. The Alien Enemies Act allows for deportations outside immigration law and without due process. The government may seek to apply this authority to individuals who have immigration proceedings pending – or even those who are lawfully present in the U.S. based on another form of temporary legal status, such as a visa, asylum, or a grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Proclamation permits summary detention and removal to anywhere, including third countries.
The Proclamation is widely considered to be illegal and a massive usurpation of power by Trump. The United States is not currently at war with any country, including Venezuela. In his Proclamation, Trump tried to get around this by referring to Tren de Aragua (TdA) as a foreign government. Thus, the Proclamation invokes the Alien Enemy Act as a basis for arresting, detaining, and removing “all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of TdA, are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States” (emphasis added).
While the dangers caused by multinational gangs like TdA should not be overlooked, contrary to the Proclamation’s unsupported assertions, theTdA is not a “foreign nation or government,” and there is no “foreign nation or government” that is currently undertaking an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States.
Trump’s Proclamation turns the Alien Enemy Act on its head. It creates an extraordinarily dangerous precedent for using self-serving and counterfactual assertions by a President to short-circuit the ordinary processes the law requires before noncitizens can be arrested, detained, and removed from the United States and have their property seized.
The U.S. government cannot detain a person indefinitely and cannot deport a person to a country where they face a high likelihood of torture. Moreover, the U.S. government’s implementation of the Alien Enemies Act must comply with the U.S. Constitution and other laws, including the Refugee Convention (which encompasses the right to seek asylum) and the Convention Against Torture (CAT). If you are wrongly subjected to the Proclamation, you can fight it.
FAQ
Current as of March 16, 2025.
Who is impacted by the Proclamation?
The March 14, 2025 Proclamation applies to 1) Venezuelan citizens; 2) aged 14 and older; 3) who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; and 4) who the government determines are members of Tren de Aragua (a transnational gang that started in Venezuela).
I am not a permanent resident, but I am a Venezuelan in lawful status in the United States or I have pending removal proceedings. Does the Proclamation apply to me?
Yes. Unless you are a lawful permanent resident of the United States or a U.S. citizen, you could be subject to the Proclamation if you are at least 14 years old. The Proclamation applies to TPS holders, asylum applicants, DACAistas, and asylees, among others. It is very broadly written.
If I filed for asylum or have Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or have a hearing in immigration court, can I be deported under the Proclamation?
Under the language of the Proclamation and the procedures described in the Proclamation, it seems that any Venezuelan citizen in the United States who is not also a citizen of the United States nor a lawful permanent resident, regardless of other status or proceedings, can be summarily deported if falsely accused of being affiliated with TdA, if the federal court’s injunction is lifted.
If you have TPS, filed for asylum, or have a fear of being returned to Venezuela (or another country), you should argue that the Proclamation’s shadow deportation process is illegal.
How does the government determine who is a member of Tren de Aragua?
We do not know the answer to that. One reason the Proclamation is so troubling is that it would seemingly allow the government to immediately remove anyone who it determines, in its own discretion, to be a Tren de Aragua member.
Anecdotally, we have heard the U.S. government has concluded someone is a Tren de Aragua member based on information such as being from the state of Aragua, having entered the country with someone else accused of being a Tren de Aragua member, and/or having tattoos of any kind. At this point, if the U.S. government accuses you of being a Tren de Aragua member, you can challenge that determination in federal court.
What is wrong with the Proclamation’s attempt to stop Tren de Aragua’s illegal activities?
The Proclamation’s use of Tren de Aragua is only a ruse and pretext to increase shadow deportations of hard-working Venezuelan families, including to third countries such as El Salvador, and to use Guantanamo as a detention center. The Trump administration is relying on propaganda tools by labeling people as “Alien Enemies” and accusing them without a proper hearing or actual evidence of being affiliated with TdA. In filings made in the federal court, the Trump administration has asserted that Trump’s determination whether a person is affiliated with TdA cannot be reviewed by a court.
Moreover, it is clear that the Trump administration’s purported concerns with community safety are a ruse. Existing immigration law and procedures provide substantial authority to detain and remove noncitizens who are members of TdA or any other violent gang. Instead of limiting itself to these existing laws, the Trump administration seeks to create fear, chaos, and confusion in order to deport many people as quickly as possible, regardless of the illegality and injustice this requires.
Why are Venezuelans being removed to El Salvador?
El Salvador’s president has reached an agreement with the United States to jail immigrants the United States has deemed to be “criminals” in exchange for payment. According to news reports, over 200 Venezuelans were removed to El Salvador on Saturday, March 15 and immediately transferred to El Salvador’s prison system. It is still unknown if these removals were pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act; if they were, the U.S. government appears to have acted in violation of the district court’s temporary restraining order.
Is the Proclamation illegal?
Yes. Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act is illegal because the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela and even then, the law is so old and outdated that it precedes other laws that now apply including the law of asylum and the Convention Against Torture (CAT). These fundamental laws include important due process and human rights protections that are much stronger now than they were when the law was written in 1798.
Can I go to court and fight back if the Proclamation is applied to me?
Yes. If you are Venezuelan and the Trump administration falsely accuses you of being affiliated with TdA and attempts to or threatens to detain or deport you under the Proclamation, you can fight back. You can file your own lawsuit. Right now, there is a temporary order from a federal judge blocking Trump from deporting people (but not detaining people) and Trump appears to have violated that judge’s order, which is illegal.
If you are detained under the Proclamation, you can fight it. You can challenge the use of the Proclamation in federal court by filing a petition for habeas corpus. If you are enrolled in the Equity Corps of Oregon (ECO- Oregon’s universal representation program), you can get help fighting your case in court.
I am Venezuelan. What can I do to protect myself?
The Proclamation should apply only to a very narrow group of people: Venezuelans who are members of the TdA. However, it appears that the Trump administration is using the Proclamation broadly to target many people who have nothing to do with TdA. If you are Venezuelan and you are a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or a U.S. citizen, the Proclamation should not apply to you.
For Oregon residents: If you do not already have a lawyer, you should enroll in Equity Corps of Oregon (ECO) right away, even if you do not have an ICE check-in scheduled. If you have an ICE check-in scheduled, make sure to list the date of your ICE check-in on your ECO application.
If you are scheduled for a check-in with ICE or an upcoming court appearance, there are several things you can do ahead of time. If you have a lawyer, speak with your lawyer. If you need a lawyer and live in Oregon, enroll in ECO. You can educate yourself about your rights, including creating a personal and family safety plan (English / Spanish). You can also complete a Detention Advocacy Worksheet (English / Spanish) to help lawyers fight for your release if you are detained.
How can I help? I am not Venezuelan and this terrifies me.
Call your representatives at all levels of government and demand accountability. Speak out for neighbors and friends who may soon be subject to this racist and unjust law.
