H.Res. 303

119 HRES 303 IH: Recognizing that members and affiliates of Tren de Aragua are alien enemies perpetrating an invasion of the United States and affirming that the President is exercising his constitutional authority to repel that invasion.
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-04-08
 text/xml
 EN
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 IV  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. RES. 303  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   April 8, 2025   Mr. Biggs of Arizona  (for himself,  Mr. Roy ,  Mr. Higgins of Louisiana ,  Mr. Ogles ,  Mrs. Miller of Illinois ,  Mr. Moore of Alabama ,  Mr. Crane ,  Mr. Tiffany ,  Mr. Harris of Maryland ,  Mr. Brecheen ,  Mr. Gill of Texas ,  Mrs. Biggs of South Carolina , and  Mr. Cloud ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    RESOLUTION
Recognizing that members and affiliates of Tren de Aragua are alien enemies perpetrating an invasion of the United States and affirming that the President is exercising his constitutional authority to repel that invasion.
Whereas article II of the United States Constitution vests Executive power to the President of the United States, and establishes the President as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces;
Whereas the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was enacted by Congress and signed into law to give the President of the United States the authority to repel an alien invasion of the United States;
Whereas invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is an exercise of the President’s authorities as Commander in Chief;
Whereas the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 states:  Whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government, and the President of the United States shall make public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being males of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States, and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies ;
Whereas, at the time the Alien Enemies Act was enacted, the term  invasion  was understood to include actions by non-state actors, as confirmed by James Madison’s comments at the Virginia Ratifying Convention for the United States Constitution and definitions in Webster’s 1806 and 1828 dictionaries, and the term  government  was understood to include the institutions for governing non-state organizations, the Alien Enemies Act can be invoked in response to invasions by non-state actors;
Whereas, on 20 January 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued  Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists,  designating Tren De Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization;
Whereas the Executive order further details Tren De Aragua’s  campaigns of violence and terror in the United States and internationally are extraordinarily violent, vicious, and similarly threaten the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere;
Whereas 20-year-old nursing student Laken Hope Riley’s assailant, who was convicted of murdering and attempting to sexually assault her, was a confirmed Tren de Aragua member;
Whereas the 2 Venezuelan illegal aliens charged with murdering and sexually assaulting 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray on June 16, 2024, are believed to have ties to Tren de Aragua;
Whereas law enforcement has confirmed Tren de Aragua taking over apartment complexes at gunpoint across the United States, including Aurora, Colorado and San Antonio, Texas;
Whereas, in March 2024, more than 100 suspected Tren de Aragua members were arrested for their involvement in charging at National Guardsmen and Department of Public Safety troopers at the El Paso border;
Whereas, in June 2024, a Tren de Aragua member was charged with shooting and injuring New York City Police Department officers Cristopher Abreu and Richard Yarusso after they tried to lawfully detain him;
Whereas, on July 30, 2024, United States Border Patrol issued a bulletin warning that Tren de Aragua gave the  green light  to its over 1,000 members to fire on and attack law enforcement;
Whereas, as of March 2025, Tren de Aragua is present in at least 19 States;
Whereas, on March 15, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued  Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren de Aragua , a proclamation that finds and declares that Tren de Aragua is  perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States ;
Whereas the proclamation further details and declares that Tren de Aragua is  undertaking hostile actions and conducting irregular warfare against the territory of the United States both directly and at the direction, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela ;
Whereas, in the 118th Congress, more than 80 Members of Congress sponsored or cosponsored legislation stating that the mass illegal immigration brought on by the open-border policies of the Biden administration constituted an invasion of the United States; and
Whereas the removal of alien enemies engaged in an invasion of the United States is necessary for the safety of the American people, and is a proper exercise of the Executive power of the President of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives—
(1)
recognizes that Tren de Aragua is a terrorist organization perpetrating an invasion of the United States directly and at the direction of a foreign government;
(2)
recognizes that members and affiliates of Tren de Aragua are alien enemies; and
(3)
recognizes and affirms that the President is exercising his Constitutional and legal authority to repel an invasion of alien enemies by apprehending, restraining, securing, and removing members and affiliates of Tren de Aragua from the United States of America.