Senator Rounds Backs Trump Using ‘Alien Enemies Act’ To Deport Dangerous Illegal Aliens

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) applauded President Donald Trump invoking a 227-year-old law on Saturday to deport dangerous criminal illegal aliens from the U.S.

Rounds made the remarks when asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” about using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport members of Tren de Aragua, a hyper violent gang from Venezuela that has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

“I can tell you that clearly, these individuals should never have been in the United States to begin with,” Rounds said. “And the question is, which laws are we using to get them back out, and whether or not the courts agree.”

“In the meantime, I’m happy to see that the President is following up with his promises that he’s going to keep Americans safe, and that means getting these criminal, drug or gang members, clearly criminal in nature, out of the United States,” he continued. “And there are thousands of them here.”

The remarks come after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, issued an order stopping Trump from using the law to deport the narco terrorists.

Tapper asked Rounds about the order from Boasberg, which demanded that any flights in the air carrying the illegal aliens be turned around immediately, specifically whether Trump would defy or ignore the order.

“I do know that we will follow the law,” Rounds said. “We expect the executive branch to follow the law. We’ve said in the past that we will follow the law that will remain consistent. We are a constitutional republic, and we will follow those laws.”

“At the same time, just once again, I think the President is doing everything he can to honor his promise that he’s going to keep our families safe,” he continued. “These illegal immigrants to begin with that are here, they are parts of a violent gang … and if we can get them out of the United States, we’re going to do it with ever legal means there are that we have available to do that.”

WATCH:

Republican @SenatorRounds defends Trump invoking wartime powers to speed up deportations but tells @JakeTapper, “We expect the executive branch to follow the law… We are a constitutional republic, and we will follow those laws.” pic.twitter.com/NI3LlgazI4

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 16, 2025