Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.-07), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, issued the following statement after the Supreme Court lifted a hold on removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798:

“The Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump Administration to move forward with deporting people under the Alien Enemies Act — an archaic wartime law — will unquestionably harm people caught up in this oppressive nightmare.

“This decision also leaves unanswered whether the President’s dangerous and unprecedented invocation of the wartime authority to go after immigrants was lawful in the first place.

“Although the Court unanimously agreed that deportations without due process are illegal, the reality is the Trump Administration has been rapidly and erroneously deporting people, and has taken the position that those erroneously deported may be confined to foreign prisons with no redress. The Court’s requirement that challenges occur through individual habeas petitions will make it very difficult for people to successfully challenge their removals before they happen.

“We will be watching closely to ensure that the Administration complies with the Court’s order and will continue to fight against the illegal invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.”

Senators Padilla, Durbin, Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) previously issued a joint statement slamming President Trump for his attempted invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport noncitizens without due process. Padilla is also a cosponsor of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, legislation that would repeal the antiquated wartime law.