Claiming the United States was being invaded by a Venezuelan gang, President Donald Trump on Saturday invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a sweeping war time authority that allows the president broader leeway on policy and executive action to speed up mass deportations of people — potentially pushing his promised crackdown on immigration into higher gear.

In a proclamation, Trump said Tren de Aragua is "undertaking hostile actions and conducting irregular warfare" against the U.S.

President Trump had invoked the law, known as the Alien Enemies Act just hours earlier, claiming that the US was being invaded by a Venezuelan gang.