The law lets the president skip the usual immigration court process to detain and deport anyone age 14 or older who is from or the citizen of a “hostile nation or government.”

Trump repeatedly hinted during his campaign that he would declare extraordinary powers to confront illegal immigration and laid additional groundwork in a slew of executive orders on Jan. 20.

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