Targeted and Terrified: Trump’s Deportation Agenda Reaches a New Low
In a stunning decision that further blurs the line between civilian governance and militarized state power, a federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that the Trump administration can invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel Venezuelan migrants—some to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center.
This ruling, made by U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines, contradicts decisions from three other federal judges who have found Trump’s use of the Act to exceed its scope. But the damage is already unfolding: over a hundred Venezuelans have been deported, and legal experts warn that the Supreme Court may soon be forced to weigh in on this deeply consequential policy.
At Peace Economy Project, we are alarmed by this latest example of how the logic of militarism is seeping into every corner of public life—not just through bloated Pentagon budgets or armed police, but through increasingly extreme and punitive immigration policies.
A Law Born of War, Abused in Peacetime
The Alien Enemies Act was written in 1798 in the context of war with France. It was designed to allow the U.S. government to detain or deport nationals of enemy countries during declared wars. For centuries, it has been rarely invoked and generally limited to formal conflicts between states.
But the Trump administration is now attempting to redefine the terms of “invasion” and “foreign threats” to apply them to migration—arguing that gang activity constitutes a form of national incursion. These claims are not supported by U.S. intelligence agencies, and critics have called the evidence “exceptionally weak.”
Yet even this flimsy pretext is enough to trigger a sweeping policy shift that deports asylum seekers to dangerous conditions without due process. This is not just bad policy—it is a militarized betrayal of our values, and it opens the door for future abuses against any group deemed inconvenient or undesirable by those in power.
Connecting the Dots: Militarism, Fear, and Control
This case is part of a larger pattern. Over the past year, we’ve witnessed:
- Surging military budgets while social services are slashed;
- Increased use of surveillance tech at borders and in communities of color;
- Efforts to criminalize dissent and normalize authoritarian control;
- State violence exported abroad and imported into domestic policy.
At its core, militarism is about more than weapons and war—it’s about power, control, and the use of force to maintain unjust systems. Whether through mass incarceration, border militarization, or the use of outdated war powers to deport vulnerable migrants, the logic is the same: punish, isolate, dominate.
A Peace Economy Demands Something Better
We must ask ourselves: what would a peace economy do differently?
- It would recognize migration as a humanitarian issue, not a military one.
- It would invest in community well-being, not cages and confinement centers.
- It would protect the rights of all people, regardless of nationality, and reject the fear-based policies that justify state violence.
- It would treat asylum seekers as neighbors, not enemies.
The Alien Enemies Act has no place in modern U.S. immigration policy—and it certainly has no place being used to justify deportations that place real human lives in danger.
Take Action
We urge our supporters to:
- Contact your representatives and demand they oppose the use of the Alien Enemies Act for immigration enforcement.
- Support immigrant rights groups working on the ground to protect vulnerable populations.
- Speak out against the normalization of military logic in domestic policy.
The militarization of immigration is not just a legal crisis—it’s a moral one. And we must respond not with silence, but with solidarity.
