Press Release
April 1, 2025
WASHINGTON – A coalition of conservatives and former government officials, alongside the State Democracy Defenders Fund, has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, opposing the Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. The brief argues that this unprecedented use of the Act represents a dangerous overreach of executive power, the potential for abuse of power, the erosion of civil liberties, and the undermining of constitutional principles.
The brief raises concerns over the administration’s actions, which the amici see as an unconstitutional expansion of presidential authority. The Alien Enemies Act, which was originally passed in 1798, was intended solely for use during times of war. The Trump administration’s recent invocation of the Act is both unwarranted and violates constitutional limits on executive power. The brief also strongly challenges the administration’s argument that the invocation of the Act is essentially unreviewable by the courts.
The amici warn that this move sets a perilous precedent. The President’s frequent rhetoric accusing immigrants of an “invasion” raises concerns that the Act could be misused to target individuals from countries that draw the ire of the President, and that the administration would argue that the misuse of the Act cannot be challenged.
The amicus brief has been signed by a distinguished group of former officials and public servants, including:
- Donald B. Ayer – Former Deputy Attorney General (George H.W. Bush Administration) and Principal Deputy Solicitor General (Reagan Administration)
- Arne Carlson – Former Governor of Minnesota (R)
- Ty Cobb – Former Special Counsel to the President (Trump Administration)
- Barbara Comstock – Former U.S. Representative (R-VA)
- George Conway – Board President, Society for the Rule of Law
- Eric Edelman – Former Principal Deputy National Security Advisor and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
- Mickey Edwards – Former U.S. Representative (R-OK)
- David Emery – Former U.S. Representative (R-ME)
- John Farmer – Former New Jersey Attorney General and Assistant U.S. Attorney
- John Giraudo – Former Attorney Advisor, Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (Reagan Administration)
- Jim Greenwood – Former U.S. Representative (R-PA)
- Michael Hayden – Former CIA and NSA Director, General, United States Air Force
- Bob Inglis – Former U.S. Representative (R-SC)
- Peter Keisler – Former Acting U.S. Attorney General (George W. Bush Administration) and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
- William Kristol – Former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dan Quayle
- Philip Allen Lacovara – Former Counsel, Watergate Special Prosecutor’s Office
- Michael Luttig – Former U.S. Circuit Judge, Assistant Attorney General, and White House Counsel (Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations)
- John McKay – Former U.S. Attorney (George W. Bush Administration)
- Tom Petri – Former U.S. Representative (R-WI)
- Carter Phillips – Former Assistant to the Solicitor General (Reagan Administration)
- Trevor Potter – Former Chairman, Federal Election Commission
- Thomas D. Rath – Former Attorney General of New Hampshire (R)
- Alan Charles Raul – Former Associate Counsel to the President (Reagan Administration)
- Stephen Richer – Former Maricopa County Recorder (R)
- Paul Rosenzweig – Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Homeland Security
- Nicholas Rostow – Former Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations)
- Robert Shanks – Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
- Christopher Shays – Former U.S. Representative (R-CT)
- Fern Smith – Former U.S. District Judge (Northern District of California)
- Peter Smith – Former U.S. Representative (R-VT)
- William Joseph Walsh – Former U.S. Representative (R-IL)
- William F. Weld – Former Governor of Massachusetts (R) and U.S. Attorney (Reagan Administration)
- Christine Todd Whitman – Former Governor of New Jersey (R) and EPA Administrator
- State Democracy Defenders Fund – A bipartisan, nonprofit organization committed to upholding the rule of law and defending the Constitution
“While Amici recognize the need to enforce our immigration laws and fight crime, our constitutional order does not allow the President to eschew the limits Congress imposed on executive actions,” the amici state in their brief. “Judicial review is intrinsic to the essential checks and balances the Framers enshrined in our constitutional system.”
On March 15, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act claiming it was an effort to speed up the removal of certain Venezuelan gang members who are in the United States. The law grants the President extraordinary powers in times of war or in response to an “invasion or predatory incursion” to detain and remove individuals from a country at war with the U.S. or believed to be engaged in an invasion.
The amicus brief can be found HERE.
State Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.