Alianza Americas Condemns President Trump’s Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Against Venezuelan Nationals

Alianza Americas forcefully condemns President Trump’s proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act to target Venezuelan nationals. The United States is neither at war nor under invasion. This reckless and xenophobic action blatantly violates human rights and constitutional protections, echoing some of history’s darkest chapters.

Trump’s rhetoric and his attempt to revive this 18th-century law mirror one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. history—the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. That egregious violation of civil liberties has since been recognized as a grave injustice. Even more disturbingly, 250 Venezuelan nationals have been deported to El Salvador’s CECOT, a notorious maximum-security prison infamous for its inhumane conditions, despite a federal judge’s 14-day temporary restraining order demanding their return.

Since 2023, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has used CECOT to detain thousands of individuals accused of gang affiliation—many without trial, due process, or any evidence beyond suspicion. Last year alone, Cristosal, a leading civil society organization, reported 261 deaths in El Salvador’s prison system as a result of its so-called crackdown on crime. Now, by accepting detained Venezuelans under ambiguous legal circumstances, El Salvador is complicit in a dangerous precedent: normalizing the repression and institutionalized abuse of migrants.

The transfer of these individuals to another country raises serious legal and ethical concerns. It remains unclear what agencies determined their alleged affiliations, under what authority they were deported, or the terms of their detention and potential release. Stripping people of their rights, labeling them as terrorists, and outsourcing their imprisonment to a foreign government is a callous maneuver driven by anti-immigrant politics—not justice or security. No human being should be subjected to such dehumanization.

The Alien Enemies Act, designed for wartime use against foreign adversaries, has no place in modern immigration policy. Weaponizing it against Venezuelan migrants is an abuse of power that undermines democracy, due process, and the very principles the U.S. claims to uphold. History has shown us the catastrophic consequences of persecuting entire groups based on fear and prejudice—we cannot allow it to happen again.

We call on all elected officials, civil society organizations, and the public to reject these dangerous actions and stand in defense of human dignity and fundamental rights. The United States must be a nation that protects the vulnerable, not one that imprisons them under fabricated threats. The judicial order was clear and unequivocal—justice must be upheld.

Alianza Americas is the premier transnational advocacy network of Latin American migrant-led organizations working in the United States, across the Americas, and globally to create an inclusive, equitable and sustainable way of life for communities across North, Central and South America.