Delegate holds a “Mass Deportation Now!” sign during the July 17, 2024, Republican National Convention. (image source)

Trump’s notorious anti-immigration plans have remained ambitious during his second term in office, promising he “will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.” In just a couple of months since re-entering office, President Donald Trump and his administration have taken immense action for these “mass deportation” efforts to come to fruition, including controversially invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Although in his proclamation, Trump states that the purpose of invoking this act is to combat the Foreign Terrorist Organization, Tren de Aragua, thereby protecting America from a terrorist “invasion,” in reality, he is simply consolidating his executive power as a means to advance his xenophobic, “mass deportation” agenda. In this consolidation of executive power, President Trump further paves the way for democratic erosion, signifying his utter threat to the health of American democracy. 

What is the Alien Enemies Act?

The Alien Enemies Act is one of four laws that comprise the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Signed by 2nd President, John Adams, these laws were passed in preparation for an anticipated war with France, or the Quasi-War. The Alien Enemies Act, in particular, grants the President authority to detain and deport immigrants of an enemy nation without due process of the law. However, it can only be invoked by the President under two bases: (1) Congress has declared war with a foreign nation, or (2) an “invasion or predatory incursion” by a “foreign nation or government” has occurred or been threatened. While the former requires Congressional influence, the latter allows the President to act unilaterally and invoke this act without an explicit check. Given that war was not officially declared during the Quasi-War, the act was not invoked during this conflict. In fact, since its passing in July 1798, the Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked thrice in American history, all of which were during declared acts of war: the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. That was until March 15, 2025, when President Donald Trump invoked this act. 

What Does Trump’s Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Do?

On March 15, 2025, Trump implemented his “Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren De Aragua.” Within the months prior, Trump’s administration laid the groundwork for this action, declaring illegal southern border crossings an invasion through his “Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion,” as well as the Department of State designating the gang, Tren de Aragua, a Foreign Terrorist Organization. So, in invoking this act, Trump reasoned that Tren de Aragua was a “significant threat,” responsible for “perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States.” As such, all Venezuelan immigrants who are fourteen years or older and found connected to Tren de Aragua are to be apprehended and deported, without an appearance in court, thereby infringing upon all people’s, regardless of citizenship status, constitutional right to due process of the law. As a result, hundreds of people have been inhumanely and unjustly deported to a prison in El Salvador, many of whom have no criminal record or ties to the gang. Beyond these clear ethical violations, Trump’s unprecedented use of this power has many implications for the integrity and stability of American democracy.  

How Does This Undermine Democratic Norms?

According to political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, the nation’s system of checks and balances was instituted to prevent the concentration and abuse of power. However, for these guardrails to remain effective in maintaining a healthy democracy, elected officials must uphold the democratic norms of mutual toleration and forbearance. Yet, in invoking the Alien Enemies Act, President Donald Trump has ignored the vital norm of forbearance. Forbearance can be understood as a political figure’s restraint of exercising power, meaning they do not exercise their institutional power to the greatest extent, despite it being legal to do so, as it will have dire consequences on the democratic system. Before Trump’s invocation, the Alien Enemies Act had only been invoked when Congress had declared war, allowing the legislature to act as a check on this presidential power. However, Trump’s unprecedented 2025 invocation of the act and abandonment of forbearance allowed him to act unilaterally, ultimately consolidating his executive power and weakening the checks and balances in place. This consolidation of power was then legitimized when the US Supreme Court released an unsigned decision that allowed Trump to continue with these deportations, so long as those being deported are given notice and the opportunity to contest. 

So, What Does This Mean for US Democracy?

As UChicago Law Professors Aziz Huq and Tom Ginsburg explain, because the legislative and judicial branches can act as a check on the consolidation of executive power, inversely, the elimination of institutional checks can act as a pathway for democratic erosion. Democratic erosion is understood as an elected leader’s slow undermining of democracy over time from within, in which actions expand the leader’s executive power while weakening other institutions’ checks and balances. Given that the US Supreme Court has allowed these mass deportations of Venezuelan immigrants to continue, Congress’s check on instituting the Alien Enemies Act has been weakened, while executive power has been expanded. Moreover, President Trump completely disregarded a judicial check on his executive power when U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a directive to pause the deportation of two hundred migrants. The Trump administration refused to comply with this directive and instead continued with its deportation efforts. As political scientist Levitsky agrees, President Trump’s explicit disregard for checks on his power is undeniably authoritarian. So, as President Trump continues to abandon democratic norms, consolidate his executive power, and weaken institutional checks, the United States faces a greater and greater risk of democratic breakdown.