Democrats are once again sounding the alarm over the Trump administration’s tough approach to illegal immigration — this time targeting the use of long-standing national security laws.
On CNN’s The Arena Thursday night, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) blasted President Trump’s administration, accusing it of “abusing” the Alien Enemies Act, a law that dates back to 1798. The law gives the president the power to detain or deport nationals of hostile countries during times of war or national emergency. Van Hollen’s criticism came in response to a federal court ruling earlier in the day that limited the administration’s efforts to deport Venezuelan nationals with suspected gang ties under the law.
Host Kasie Hunt led the conversation by noting that a Trump-appointed judge had just ruled that the administration couldn’t use the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans it alleges are connected to gang activity. She asked Van Hollen for his take on the decision.
Van Hollen didn’t hold back. “It’s a total abuse of the Alien Enemies Act to claim that what we’re experiencing here in the country is an invasion, like from a foreign government,” he said.
He praised the judge’s ruling, saying the court simply looked at the facts and concluded that the administration’s actions overstepped the law. “Look, the Trump administration is trying to dredge up these old laws and misapply them across the board,” Van Hollen claimed.
The senator then pivoted to another hot-button topic — the administration’s crackdown on anti-American foreign student protesters. Many of these students have faced scrutiny after participating in anti-Israel demonstrations and other controversial political activity on U.S. campuses. But Van Hollen sees it differently.
“They’ve also done the same thing in these cases where they’re detaining students for their speech,” he said. “It’s not a question of whether you like their speech or don’t like their speech. They have a right to free speech.”
Van Hollen took issue with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in particular, accusing him of reviving the McCarran-Walter Act, a Cold War-era statute, to justify deporting or denying visas to foreign students involved in protests. “Rubio has dredged up this McCarthy-era law… trying to claim that these students exercising their speech is somehow a threat to U.S. foreign policy,” Van Hollen said. “It’s clearly a ruse simply to squash their free speech rights.”
The Maryland Democrat didn’t stop there. He argued that the administration was also misusing its authority in economic matters — pointing specifically to Trump’s use of The Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs and economic restrictions.
“No matter where you look, this administration is violating statutes and the Constitution,” Van Hollen claimed.
What Van Hollen and others on the left call “abuses,” many conservatives would argue are long-overdue enforcement efforts. With record numbers of illegal border crossings, growing concerns about criminal gang activity, and student protesters waving foreign flags while bashing American policy, the Trump administration has taken a firm stand. And that includes using the full extent of the law — even laws that have been on the books for decades or centuries.
Whether it’s the Alien Enemies Act, the McCarran-Walter Act, or emergency economic powers, the Trump team has signaled it won’t be shy about using every legal tool to protect American interests.
As always, Democrats are pushing back — but voters will have the final say.
