I couldn’t speak.” Unbeknownst to his family, Yamarte had been put on a plane after President Donald Trump secretly signed a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The wartime provision gave Trump the power to quickly remove Venezuelans accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang,

The Trump administration responded Tuesday to a judge’s questions about whether it defied a court order, saying it did not and that it used more than just the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 gives the president wartime powers to deport undocumented immigrants with little to no due process.