Europe Asia News

Yesterday, a U.S. federal judge suspended President Donald Trump’s decision to deport immigrants based on an 18th-century law.

According to the law, the U.S. president can deport citizens of an enemy country during wartime, allowing the arrest, expulsion, or deportation of individuals without due process.

Trump stated yesterday that he would use this law to deport Venezuelan gang members. Human rights organizations accused him of attempting to accelerate mass deportations of immigrants in violation of the law.

According to the judge’s ruling, Trump’s directive was delayed for two weeks. The terms of the law, such as "invasion," refer to hostile actions by enemy states, making the law an unsuitable legal basis for Trump's actions.

The judge noted that the government had already begun deporting immigrants, forcing him to act without prior warning.

This law has only been used four times since its enactment 227 years ago, most recently during World War II, when more than 30,000 people, primarily from Japan, Germany, and Italy, were detained under its provisions.