President Donald Trump’s reason cited in his implementation of the Alien Enemies Act last month has been rejected by a U.S. intelligence assessment, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email late Thursday night for comment.
Why It Matters
Since his January 20 inauguration, Trump has implemented sweeping change, mainly through executive orders, and has prioritized immigration as a key pillar.
Trump last month utilized the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law that grants the commander in chief authority to detain or deport non-citizens. The implementation was originally blocked in federal court and sparked a contentious legal back-and-forth in the federal courts.
What To Know
The AP cites a classified assessment this month from the National Intelligence Council that found no link between Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government.
In his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, Trump said that the gang is “closely aligned with, and indeed has infiltrated, the [President Nicolás] Maduro regime, including its military and law enforcement apparatus.”
“Maduro leads the regime-sponsored enterprise Cártel de los Soles, which coordinates with and relies on TdA and other organizations to carry out its objective of using illegal narcotics as a weapon to ‘flood’ the United States. In 2020, Maduro and other regime members were charged with narcoterrorism and other crimes in connection with this plot against America,” Trump says in the proclamation.
According to the AP, citing U.S. officials, the assessment showed that the Venezuelan gang “is not coordinated with or supported by the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, or senior officials in the Venezuelan government.”
The assessment did find “minimal contact” between low-level members of the Venezuelan government and some members of Tren de Aragua, but “there was a consensus that there was no coordination or directive role between gang and government,” the AP reports.
The assessment was composed of input from the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, the AP says. The FBI was the lone agency that did not agree with the findings.
The Supreme Court also ruled this month that the Trump administration can continue carrying out deportations under the act, but also ordered that deportees must be allowed to argue their cases in court.
What People Are Saying
FBI Director Kash Patel on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday: “FBI leadership just received an update on our immigration efforts since January 20, 2025. As of this morning: Over 6,000 subjects detained and arrested 310 Tren de Aragua members 136 MS-13 members We have so much more to do. But thanks to the leadership of this administration and @AGPamBondi, your hard working FBI teams, and our regional law enforcement partners, we’re making America safer every single day.”
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council in a post on X on Thursday: “Yet ANOTHER internal component of the federal government that acknowledges the reality; Tren de Aragua is not an arm of Venezuela and it’s not ‘invading’ the country. Trump’s lawless Alien Enemies Act declaration cannot stand.”
What Happens Next
It is believed the Trump administration will continue carrying out deportations, standing behind the president’s campaign promise of “mass” expulsions.
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