National News

Trump Deportation Actions Challenged in Court

2 weeks ago
3 min. read

While activists are calling for the arrest of President Trump, 55% of Americans side with him on border security and immigration in a new NBC News poll.

President Donald Trump continues to fulfil his campaign promise to secure the border and deport illegal immigrants who entered the United States unlawfully despite condemnations from left-wing activists and Democratic elected officials. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration over its recent invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport thousands of illegal immigrants who are also alleged to be gang members. The ACLU is representing five Venezuelans accused of being members of the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua.

On Sunday, a federal judge issued an order to temporarily stop deportations using the Alien Enemies Act as a rationale, though several flights to El Salvador and Honduras were in the air at the time of the order. Those being transported were transferred at their destination. The White House disputed the notion they defied a judicial order, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying it “was issued after terrorist [Tren de Aragua] aliens had already been removed from” the country.

Actress Mia Farrow was among those criticizing the Trump administration’s actions deporting violent gang members, saying Trump should be arrested for having “ignored a judge’s orders.”

Much of the criticism is centered around whether it is appropriate to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, saying Tren de Aragua is invading the United States, while no formal declaration of war has been enacted. Scholars from liberal think tanks are characterizing Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act as having “overstepped its statutory authority.” Though one law professor from South Texas College of Law Houston argued no formal declaration is necessary and the president can decide “what constitutes an invasion,” pointing to a 1948 Supreme Court decision that gave the executive branch discretion on aspects of the Act.

While some in the media and the Democratic Party are taking every opportunity to criticize Trump on his detention and deportation of illegal immigrants and those deemed a national security risk, the American people appear to largely agree with him. According to a new poll from NBC News, 55% of respondents approve of Trump’s handling of “border security and immigration.”

Among the many tools the Trump administration is using to remove illegal immigrants is a revamped smartphone app called CBP Home, which includes a feature allowing illegal immigrants to “self deport.” The feature lets those here illegally send a notification to Homeland Security announcing their intent to leave the country, also requiring they provide information about their departure.

While thousands of illegal immigrants have been deported and more are subject to removal from the United States, the case of Mahmoud Khalil has received most media attention. Khalil, a Columbia University student who engaged in anti-Israel protests on campus after Hamas’ attack on Israel in 2023. Khalil, born in Syria but with an Algerian passport, was arrested and detained for deportation for his role in those campus protests.

Additionally, a Lebanese doctor and Brown University professor was refused reentry and deported after traveling to her home country to attend the public funeral for a terrorist leader. Authorities found photos praising a number of terrorists and anti-Semitic figures on her phone.

Aside from the deportation of those already in the country illegally, border crossings have dropped precipitously since Trump returned to the White House. According to the Department of Homeland Security, apprehension of those attempting to enter the illegally in between port of entry dropped by 71% from January to February of this year.