"In an extraordinary piece of reporting in this week's issue, he makes plain how the Trump Administration has used the Alien Enemies Act, which prior to this year had been used only three times in the nation's history, to detain and deport immigrants who were lawfully in the United States. Just a day after invoking the act, in March, the government sent more than two hundred Venezuelan men to CECOT, a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador, without due process."
"Much of the Administration's effort has focussed on the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. But, as Blitzer demonstrates, the evidence presented to prove affiliation with the gang has been, at best, tenuous. One former Homeland Security official told him, "Border Patrol was using Tren de Aragua as a shorthand for any Venezuelan men who were doing anything criminal." Often, though, there was no criminal activity at all. Tattoos or posts on social media became enough evidence for officials to allege membership and make arrests."
The Alien Enemies Act, previously used only three times in U.S. history, was invoked to detain and deport immigrants who were lawfully present in the United States. More than two hundred Venezuelan men were sent to CECOT, a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador, without due process. Much of the effort targeted the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but evidence of affiliation was often tenuous. Border Patrol and other officials used the gang name as shorthand for Venezuelan men accused of criminal activity. Tattoos, social-media posts, and even clothing were treated as sufficient proof of membership, leading to arrests and deportations.
Read at The New Yorker
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