Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, vehemently criticized Trump’s deportation flight administration record and illegal application of the Alien Enemies Act. Himes appeared on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, where he openly questioned the legality of the deportations and their administration, particularly about Venezuelan gang members suspected of inflicting terror on communities nationwide.
The operation features the deportation of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members, who are suspected Venezuelan gang members. The actions have raised serious legal questions, especially following national security adviser Mike Waltz’s suggestion that the Venezuelan gang was tied to the government, something not substantiated by the U.S. intelligence community. Critics like Himes argue that the Trump administration’s argument for using the Alien Enemies Act, a war-time law passed in the 18th century, is flawed and illegal. The act, which was intended to be used in times of war, expressly allows the U.S. government to deport foreign nationals who are deemed enemies. But there is no declared state of war between Venezuela and the U.S., something that Himes argues takes away from the legality of the administration’s action.
Himes grumbled about how the governance and national security administration was marked by illegality and incompetence in combination. “What people are worried about is that the administration acts on an unbelievable type of cocktail of illegality and incompetence,” stated Himes. He used as proof the forced dismissal of key officials at the Department of Energy—the ones with the mandate to manage the country’s nuclear weapons—is a classic example of mismanagement of administration. “When you lay off everybody at the Department of Energy that looks after our nuclear weapons and then go around saying ‘oopsie, we need to bring you back,’ that’s incompetence,” he continued.
The use of the deportations as a controversy and the use of the Alien Enemies Act is a result of increasing criticism of the Trump administration’s national security policy, foreign affairs, and immigration policy. As concerns about abuse of power continue to be raised, it is now called for the use of war powers in domestic deportations to be further examined.
