Not Just Another Bad Headline
I know it’s been a couple weeks. I’ve been buried under the avalanche of chaos—Signal Gate, the spiraling economic crisis triggered by Trump’s tariff tantrums, that mysterious “pause” in tariffs (which definitely didn’t smell like insider trading at all), and the nonstop headline fatigue. Choosing just one topic to focus on has felt like playing democracy whack-a-mole. But over the past few days, one story kept tugging at me, louder than the rest: the quiet disappearance of roughly 300 people.
This, to me, marks the clearest line yet crossed into authoritarianism. Not because of the cruelty, which we’ve come to expect—but because of the method. It was clinical. Strategic. Meant to fly under the radar until it was too late. The Trump administration didn’t want to debate it—they wanted to do it. Fast. Quiet. Before the courts could blink. And they want the rest of us to understand one thing: this could happen to anyone.While the public was distracted by the latest viral outrage, the Trump administration enacted one of its most dangerous policies yet—a quiet campaign of unilateral deportations.
These were rapid, legally murky expulsions executed with the kind of secrecy and audacity that would make even Nixon blink.
And yet? Crickets.
There’s been remarkably little outcry. A few headlines, some buried think pieces, a brief mention on the news shows—and then silence. The sheer volume of political chaos seems to have numbed us. But this policy, as underreported and cloaked in bureaucratic fog as it may be, is an authoritarian red flag of the highest order. That’s why I’m writing about it. Because no one else is screaming, and someone damn well should be.
This isn’t just another administration policy. This is a constitutional crisis disguised as bureaucracy. It’s the quiet unraveling of due process, the criminalization of political opinion, and the normalization of secretive government action. If you’re not alarmed yet, buckle up. You will be.
The Alien Enemies Act: A Constitutional Trojan Horse
Let’s take a closer look at this infamous law.
The Alien Enemies Act, codified at 50 U.S. Code § 21, is the only surviving section of the Alien and Sedition Acts. It allows the president to detain, relocate, or deport citizens of a hostile nation once a formal declaration of war has been made. There are supposed to be safeguards. There’s supposed to be due process. And most importantly, there’s supposed to be a war.
The Trump administration has sidestepped that last bit by claiming that the Venezualan gang Tren de Aragua, while not officially an enemy state, represents a “security threat.” I’d be hard pressed to find people who disagree with the logic that a criminal gang represents a security threat, but the problem is we don’t know if they were actually part of that gang or not. Using this logic and process, the president could theoretically declare anyone dangerous and begin mass unilateral deportations based on his opinion alone.
This legal stretch is not just unprecedented—it’s constitutionally reckless. It opens the door to removals based not on proof of individual guilt or even criminal association, but rather because the administration simply doesn’t like you. It violates international human rights law. And it guts centuries of legal precedent that demand due process before the state can deprive anyone—citizen or not—of liberty.
When the government invokes a wartime statute against non-combatants, without a declaration of war, and refuses to submit to judicial review, we are no longer operating in a constitutional democracy. We are operating in something much darker.
The Collapse of Due Process
It’s hard to overstate how dangerous this trend is.
Without due process, there is no fair hearing. No right to appeal. No defense. No facts. The government becomes judge, jury, and executioner. And the rest of us are supposed to just accept that they got it right.
People argue that non-citizens don’t deserve constitutional protections. That is legally and morally bankrupt. The Constitution doesn’t just protect citizens—it protects persons. The courts have affirmed this again and again.
For those having trouble following along, imagine you (yes you), a U.S. citizen, are detained, and told you will be deported because you are believed to be an illegal immigrant. Knowing you can easily produce evidence that you are, in fact, a citizen you ask to be given a chance to produce said evidence. However, you are told by the government that it doesn’t matter because they already decided your fate. You are given no chance to prove or produce anything. Does this seem illegal and inhumane to you? Due process is how we determine citizenship. It’s how we determine whether someone has broken the law. It’s how we prevent tyranny.
And yet, under Trump’s policies, people have been deported without even confirming their identities. It’s likely ICE agents are making judgments based on tattoos and social media posts. But again, we don’t know what the legal barometer of proving association to Tren de Aragua is, because it hasn’t been brought before a court.
Finally, if these people are already in custody, it’s fair to assume they no longer pose a threat. Why can’t the administration edify the courts and make a case? It doesn’t take much to prove grounds for deportation, but you still have to prove it in the courts. It’s very terrifying that the administration won’t meet this low bar and refuse to engage in discourse with the courts. Well, one Justice Department lawyer attempted to, but he was soon let go after his court appearance.
Venezuelan Deportations: An Authoritarian Playbook in Action
Let’s begin with what we know—and that in itself is a problem. Details about the deportations have been hard to come by. The Trump administration has gone to great lengths to conceal who is being deported, where they’re going, and why.
Several weeks ago, the administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a section of the Alien and Sedition Acts passed in 1798, to justify the deportation of Venezuelan nationals. This act, intended for wartime use, grants the president sweeping authority to detain or remove nationals of an enemy country. And yes, that sounds as outdated as powdered wigs and duels at dawn.
Originally passed during a period of tension with France, the law was a tool of fear and suspicion. It was barely used over the next two centuries—until now. While yes, the US is and should combat violent crime, especially when organised crime is involved— the U.S. is not at war. There’s no declaration of hostilities, no battlefield, no soldiers. But that didn’t stop the administration from dusting off this archaic law to justify unilateral deportations.
Using this law, ICE agents were able to round up (what we think are) Venezuelan criminals and put them on planes with minimal paperwork and zero judicial review. Some were detained for just 48 hours before being flown out. Immigration judges weren’t notified. Only 5 of these people were able to reach legal representation in time, though this would later prove futile as the administration ignored a federal judge’s orders to pause the deportations. Families were left searching detention databases, only to discover that their loved ones had vanished.
In one high-profile case, a man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, with a valid court order not to be deported to El Salvador, was deported without notice. His lawyer found out after the fact. The court later ruled that the deportation violated federal orders—and the administration acknowledging the mistake, refuses to bring the man back to face a U.S. court to decide his fate.
Even after admitting they had “made mistakes,” officials refused to acknowledge wrongdoing. Instead, they doubled down. The legal logic was Kafkaesque: if we made a mistake, it was a lawful one. It’s terrifying to think that when the current administration makes a grave mistake such as this, their reaction is to refuse to offer any recourse and make excuses as to why they can do nothing. Did no one power utter “Oh my god, I can’t believe we did this. We need to get him back”?
This kind of legal black hole is terrifying. It undermines the judiciary. It defies congressional authority. And most of all, it sets a precedent that the president can operate outside the bounds of law to the point that unknown and anonymous people can be shipped to a prison in another country under the guise of national security.
Student Deportations: Criminalizing Thought
Perhaps the most Orwellian twist in all this has been the deportation of students for their political views.
ICE detained a Syrian-born college student, Mahmoud Khalil—a permanent U.S. resident—after he was known to be outspoken against Israel and the war in Gaza. He was arrested, held in a private detention facility, and transferred to Louisiana within 24 hours. His lawyers say they were never notified of his location. His family was kept in the dark for days.
The charge? None, really. No criminal history. No immigration violations. His “offense” was attending protests and exercising free speech.
Then came Marco Rubio’s reason, in which he suggested that foreign students who “pose significant threats” to U.S. foreign policy should be deported. He notably claimed Khalil’s beliefs were enough to get him deported. He labelled university as being lunatics and says he will deport for their beliefs. He didn’t specify who defines “disinformation,” nor did he explain why students lose their right to speech once they enroll in a U.S. university.
Make no mistake—this is not about immigration law. This is about silencing political dissent. The administration tries to start with something that seems reasonable such as deporting criminal gang members or people who support Hamas. They view this rationale as being reason enough and requiring no evidence. It is surely indefensible to stick up for criminals. I agree it is, but you still have to show at least one iota of proof.
The administration has begun using immigration enforcement not to protect borders, but to purge ideological opponents. If you speak out, you could be next. Citizen or not.
Why the Silence?
It’s easy to blame apathy. But it’s more than that. This policy is built on fear—fear of association, fear of retribution, fear of being next.
The administration has masterfully branded all migrants as criminals, terrorists, or freeloaders. Even if they’re students. Even if they’ve never broken a law.
When people are labeled as threats, few dare to speak up in their defense. That’s how authoritarian regimes operate. They isolate the target. They smear the victim. They make you afraid to care.
Many Americans think this doesn’t affect them. That’s the trap. Because what starts at the margins never stays there. What is normalized in the immigration system will bleed into the criminal justice system, into education, into healthcare, into every area of public life.
The Supreme Court Weighs In—Barely
In a rare unanimous decision, the Supreme Court recently ruled that deportation requires “some” due process. The opinion, written in cautiously vague language, rebuked the administration’s deportation spree—but stopped short of defining clear limits.
Legal experts are divided. Some see it as a critical firewall against further abuse. Others worry it’s too little, too late.
What’s clear is that the executive branch has been operating outside the rule of law. And unless Congress and the Judiciary takes bold action to rein in presidential power, this will only get worse.
Conclusion: This Is How Democracies Die
This policy—this quiet, chaotic, and cruel campaign of deportations—is the most dangerous thing the Trump administration has done to date. Yes, more dangerous than putting classified information on Signal. Yes, more dangerous than imposing tariffs and disrupting the global economy. This policy shows us how the administration plans to crush dissent at home.
Because this is how democracies die: not with a bang, but with a bureaucratic whimper. A few people deported here, a few silenced there, and suddenly the rules no longer apply.
And if there are no rules, there is no democracy.
The misuse of the Alien Enemies Act is more than a legal overreach—it’s an ideological statement. It’s saying: We don’t need proof. We don’t need courts. We only need power. That should terrify every single person who believes in American values, whether they’re watching from a suburb in Ohio or a cafe in Sydney.
We’re seeing the pillars of democratic accountability—separation of powers, equal protection under the law, free speech—being kicked out from under us. And it’s being done under the thinnest of pretenses: national security, law and order, patriotism. History shows that those are always the excuses authoritarian regimes use. And history also shows how quickly things can deteriorate once that line is crossed.
If this can happen to migrants today, it can happen to dissenting citizens tomorrow. If speaking out becomes synonymous with being a threat, then silence becomes survival—and that’s not freedom.
We cannot afford to let this moment slide into the background. We must confront it, call it what it is, and stop it before it metastasizes. Because this is the canary in the coal mine—and the bird is gasping.
Call to Action:
If this outrages you, don’t look away. Share this story. Write to your representatives. Support legal organizations fighting back. Because democracy doesn’t disappear overnight. It erodes, quietly, while everyone is looking elsewhere. Let’s start looking where it matters most.