Washington, DC — In response to Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 over the weekend, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network issued the following statement:
“With the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, Trump is cementing his regime as unmistakably authoritarian. This is a tipping point in Trump’s cruel detention and deportation agenda that echoes some of the darkest moments in US history, including the Red Scare and Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Decades later, we still see the deep, multigenerational trauma caused by the detention of children and adults en masse based on where they were from, what they looked like, and the language they spoke.
It cannot be overstated how dire this moment is. With his invocation of a 227 year old law that Congress, courts, and presidents have apologized for the Trump regime has allied itself with authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, to indefinitely imprison people shipped from the US in his abusive mega prison with no due process, using the Salvadoran prison as a tool for propaganda. Trump and Bukele's partnership deepens collaboration with authoritarian governments, further jeopardizing democratic values in the U.S. and around the world.
Officials in the administration are also openly defying court orders in an effort to carry out this racist, anti-immigrant agenda unchecked, including a court order to halt the deportation flights to El Salvador. Meanwhile, across the country, people are facing unprecedented immigration enforcement – the targeting, detention, and deportation of people. In addition to last week’s detention of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil, this weekend, news broke of the alarming, abusive interrogation of Fabian Schmidt at Logan airport and the deportation of Brown University professor, Rasha Alawieh in defiance of a court order. It’s clear the Trump regime is acting with impunity, without fear of rebuke or consequence.
The flagrant degree and pace to which the Trump administration is villainizing people, suppressing political dissent, and aggressively targeting people should send shock waves across the country and world. We cannot afford for our elected leaders to remain silent, immobile, or worse, complicit in Trump’s cruel detention and deportation agenda. People’s lives are in jeopardy and our democracy is crumbling. We need real leaders who aren’t afraid to unite against Trump, who invest in critical programs that support everyone’s well-being, and who advocate for the rights of immigrants – valued and vital members of our communities.”
###
Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.