President Trump is utilizing the recently invoked 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected Venezuelan gang members without a trial, and the first person targeted for detention under the law is an illegal migrant gangbanger wanted for human trafficking.
Authorities said Friday that Homeland Security officers and Florida police officers had successfully collared Franklin Jose Jimenez-Bracho, a “known Tren de Aragua gang member,” by “steering” him directly into a line of officers with handcuffs ready.
Bracho is wanted for smuggling and human trafficking, and an investigation is still ongoing.
At a press conference on Friday, Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons stressed the Trump administration’s resolve to apprehend and deport members of Tren de Aragua, calling it “a violent foreign terrorist group that has invaded American land.”
According to him, ICE has detained over 68 TdA “terrorists” in the US in the past 48 hours.
When Trump took office in January, he singled out Tren de Aragua by designating the jail gang in Venezuela as a foreign terrorist organization.
As part of the Trump administration’s huge deportation campaign, which resulted in over 32,000 arrests in its first 50 days, some members of the South American gang have also been taken into custody. According to senior Homeland Security officials, 70% of these individuals are either facing charges or have been found guilty of crimes.
The number of migrants deported by the federal government as part of the large deportation campaign has not yet been made public.