An executive order signed by President Trump over the weekend greenlit deportation flights carrying Venezuelan nationals accused without evidence of having gang ties.
The flights took off using an obscure wartime authority called the Alien Enemies Act.
William Banks is a Professor Emeritus at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs who specializes in military issues. He says the law was created in the 1790s, when the U.S. worried past conflict between Native American tribes and France could spill over to the new government. It has only reemerged during World War I and World War II.
“So for the Trump administration to raise it now, and to try to use that authority to try to deal with a criminal gang is pretty far-fetched. So the roadmap is unprecedented,” he said. “It’s quite rare and if the administration digs in its heels on the use of this authority and maintain that whatever the judge says they’re going to forward with the operation, then we have a crisis.”
Under the executive order, Venezuelans accused of having gang ties were stripped of due process and swiftly flown to El Salvador — despite an order from a judge barring the flight.
The ACLU has since announced legal action questioning whether the flight defied court orders.
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Samples from the Sedona Wastewater Treatment Plant tested positive for the measles virus. That indicates that at least one person with a recent infection has been in the area. -
The union that represents Sun Tran bus and streetcar drivers, ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement this week following a union vote in June to authorize a strike. -
Arizona Democrats are demanding answers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after several cases of measles were confirmed among people in ICE custody in the state. -
The Kino Border Initiative and Loyola University Chicago School of Law filed a report to the United Nations, arguing conditions at U.S. immigration detention centers violate international human rights standards — including those prohibiting torture. -
The Sonoran capital, along with three other cities, will become one of the first to receive solar panels through the government program, the governor says.
