The American Association of Jurists (AAJ) condemns the U.S. use of the Alien Enemies Act against Venezuelan migrants. Learn how this 1798 law denies due process and dehumanizes migrants.

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The American Association of Jurists (AAJ) has issued a strong statement condemning the U.S. government’s application of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against Venezuelan migrants, calling it a blatant violation of human rights and international public law.

The AAJ describes this law as an “aberrant and anachronistic” tool that reflects the enemy criminal law, a Nazi-fascist principle historically used to justify the persecution and extermination of millions of people.

The statement emphasizes that this law, which had not been invoked since World War II, allows for the deportation of migrants without guaranteeing them due judicial or administrative process, subjecting them to degrading and dehumanizing treatment.

Furthermore, the AAJ denounces that Venezuelan migrants are being “commercialized and transported as undesirable goods” to countries like El Salvador, whose government has admitted receiving $6 million in exchange for accepting 238 alleged members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.

The AAJ links this migration policy to the economic sanctions and unilateral coercive measures imposed by the U.S. against Venezuela for over 20 years, intensified in 2015 when President Barack Obama declared the country an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” According to the AAJ, these measures have forced thousands of Venezuelans to flee their country due to the economic and social deterioration caused by the sanctions.

The statement concludes with a firm rejection of these practices, labeling them a “crime against humanity” that has sparked fear and outrage not only among the Venezuelan community but also among other Latin American communities in the U.S.

The AAJ demands respect for human rights and international law, condemning the criminalization of migrants under laws reminiscent of the darkest chapters of 20th-century history.

The AAJ, along with other organizations, asserts that the application of the Alien Enemies Act not only violates the fundamental rights of Venezuelan migrants but also reflects a dehumanizing and discriminatory migration policy backed by economic and political interests.

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