President Donald Trump invoked the Aliens Enemies Act of 1798 last week in an attempt to expedite the deportations of Venezuelan immigrants to a prison in El Salvador. The 1798 law was only invoked three times during periods of war, most recently during World War II to detain people of German, Italian and Japanese descent. Almost immediately after the law was invoked, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered a block on the deportations, and verbally ordered for two planes heading to El Salvador to turn around back to the United States. The planes did not return and landed in El Salvador, and the Venezuelan immigrants were quickly detained under Salvadorian custody, leading to many claiming that the Trump administration had violated Boasberg’s order.

The Trump administration claimed that the Venezuelan immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua, though has not provided evidence. The law allowed immigration agents to deport non-citizens without going before an immigration judge first, possibly depriving them of their due process rights under the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The law was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward who sued the Trump administration, and citizens and non-citizens alike are concerned over the misuse of this law and how it could be against them.

“It frightens me,” Mia N., U.S.-born daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, comments. “[Trump] is enacting this law to gain wartime powers, it’s only a matter of time until he grants himself other war powers.” Mia cites worries of a constitutional crisis regarding the Trump admin potentially sidestepping the judge in his bid to the Supreme Court asking them to remove Judge Boasberg. As for the deportations, many are hoping that the Alien Enemies Act remains blocked to protect them from possible civil rights harm as the Venezuelan immigrants case is being heard in the courts.