In March 2025, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the deportation of Venezuelan migrants suspected of gang affiliations, specifically targeting the Tren de Aragua gang. This marked an unprecedented peacetime application of the act, as the United States is not officially at war with Venezuela. While not able to stop the beginning of the deportations, a federal judge issued a fourteen-day restraining order, opening to legal debates about the scope and applicability of the act in contemporary contexts.