The Justice Department is launching a criminal probe into a leak related to Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang that has been a primary focus of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.
In a statement, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ was opening an investigation related “to the selective leak of inaccurate, but nevertheless classified, information from the Intelligence Community” on the street gang, which was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in February.
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“We will not tolerate politically motivated efforts by the Deep State to undercut President Trump’s agenda by leaking false information onto the pages of their allies at the New York Times,” said Blanche. “The Alien Enemies Proclamation is supported by fact, law, and common sense, which we will establish in court and then expel the TDA terrorists from this country.”
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump declared that he would use Alien Enemies Proclamation to fast track deportations of TdA members living illegally in the United States.
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The proclamation, a wartime law, authorizes expedited removal of Venezuelan citizens ages 14 and older deemed members of the group who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
The last time the act was invoked was during World War II, when it was used to put many noncitizens of Japanese, German and Italian descent in internment camps.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportations of Venezuelans under the wartime act.