As part of his push to crack down on immigration, President Donald Trump dusted off an obscure 18th-century law, drawing harsh criticism — and a court order to stop it, which his officials are fighting.
On March 16, the administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and deported around 250 Venezuelans, claiming they were part of a dangerous prison gang — even though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement later admitted in a court filing that many didn’t even have criminal records. Historian Heather Cox Richardson (who you know from her popular Substack Letters from an American) is now sounding the alarm, warning that this could set off a troubling ripple effect.
“If the president can decide who gets to come into the country and who gets deported, and can simply decide who those people are — really, none of us are safe,” she told Katie Couric during an exclusive interview.
Richardson went on to emphasize that there are meant to be procedures in place for deportations, such as court hearings. “That’s what due process does — it establishes the facts of who you are and whether or not you’ve committed a crime.”
But wait — what exactly is this centuries-old law that Trump used to justify the deportations? According to Richardson, the Alien Enemies Act was originally meant to detain or deport nationals from enemy nations during wartime or an invasion. “What the Trump administration did is misuse this act from the 1700s and declare Venezuela an enemy,” she explains.
But rather than returning the migrants to Venezuela, Richardson points out that the Trump administration sent them to Cecot prison in El Salvador, a facility infamous for its brutal conditions and accusations of human rights abuses.
“You can probably think of times in our own history when people were sent to prison based solely on someone’s word,” Richardson says. “And it’s easy to find examples in other countries, where simply doing something the person in power dislikes can land you in prison — like Syria until recently, Russia today, or any authoritarian regime.”
Despite the gravity of these deportations, Richardson remains hopeful. “Somebody once said to me that Americans will never put up with authoritarianism because we’re too ornery,” she said. “I would add to that that we don’t like to shut up, and that we will find ways to get our message out.”
For deeper insights into Trump’s deportations, his growing tensions with judges, and the dismantling of federal agencies — and why these actions are causing serious concern — watch Katie’s full interview with Richardson in the video above.
