Congress Backs President’s Use of Emergency Powers to Deport TdA and MS13 Members to El Salvador’s Prison

This resolution is essentially Congress giving a formal thumbs-up to a series of recent, high-stakes actions taken by the President regarding transnational criminal organizations, specifically the group Tren de Aragua (TdA) and MS13. It’s not a new law, but a declaration that the House supports the Executive Branch’s moves to use emergency authority to remove non-citizen members of these groups.

The document confirms that back in January 2025, the President used Executive Order 14157 to officially label TdA and other cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). This FTO designation is the crucial first step, as it unlocks a massive amount of executive power. The resolution then notes a key agreement made with El Salvador’s President Bukele in February 2025: El Salvador agreed to hold and imprison members of TdA on behalf of the United States.

The Emergency Power Play

The most significant part of this resolution is the affirmation of the President’s authority. On March 15, 2025, the President invoked the Alien Enemies Act (50 U.S.C. 21 et seq.)—a law typically reserved for wartime—claiming TdA had infiltrated the U.S. This Act allows the President to detain, deport, or place restrictions on non-citizens associated with FTOs, often bypassing standard immigration court procedures. The resolution explicitly states that the House supports the President’s use of this authority.

Immediately following this invocation, two flights carrying non-citizen members of TdA and MS13 left U.S. airspace. The resolution confirms that on March 16, 2025, these individuals were received by El Salvador and promptly moved into the nation’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) for detention. In short, Congress is affirming that the President has the power to use emergency measures to identify, detain, and deport non-citizens associated with FTOs, and to secure their confinement in a foreign country.

What This Means for Due Process

For most people, the removal of violent gang members sounds like a win for safety. But legislative analysts need to look closely at the tools used. The resolution strongly affirms the President's power, as Commander in Chief, to unilaterally detain and deport non-citizens who are part of an FTO. This is a massive concentration of power because the use of the Alien Enemies Act means these individuals are being removed based on executive determination, rather than the standard, lengthy process of immigration court review.

If you’re a non-citizen living in the U.S., this resolution confirms that the Executive Branch can use this emergency authority against any group it designates as an FTO, restricting the procedural rights that would normally be available. While the resolution focuses on TdA and MS13, the precedent affirmed here is the use of this broad emergency power against non-state actors or criminal organizations. It supports the idea that the President can decide who is a 'terrorist' and then quickly remove them without the usual checks and balances.

The International Arrangement

The resolution also validates the arrangement to send these individuals to El Salvador’s CECOT. This raises questions about oversight. The U.S. is essentially outsourcing the confinement of these individuals to a foreign government. While the goal is to fully remove these organizations from U.S. soil—a clear national security objective—the resolution doesn't include any provisions for monitoring the conditions or due process afforded to the detainees once they are in El Salvador’s prison system. This is a crucial detail for anyone concerned about international human rights standards, even for individuals accused of serious crimes.