ACLU lawyer warns under Trump 'anybody can be picked up' and deported with no judicial oversight

An American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney warned that "anybody can be picked up" if President Donald Trump uses the Alien Enemies Act with no judicial oversight.

Lee Gelernt spoke on CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday about reports of illegal Venezuelan migrants being deported to an El Salvador prison despite allegedly having no gang ties or criminal record. This followed the Trump administration invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to immediately deport violent illegal immigrants believed to be members of gangs like Tren de Aragua.

Gelernt, who is part of the ACLU’s legal challenge against the Trump administration, insisted the president does not have the right to send someone who has been deported to a prison in a different country.

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A prison guard transfers deportees from the U.S. to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP)

"Every administration back to 1798 has understood this is wartime authority to be used when the United States is at war with a foreign government," Gelernt said. "The administration is saying, 'Not only are we gonna use it against a criminal organization, but you, the courts, have no role. You cannot tell us that we're violating the law or stop us.'"

"60 Minutes" correspondent Cecilia Vega reported on other legal concerns arising from concerns that illegal immigrants without gang ties are being sent to this prison without due process. 

Gelernt warned "anything is possible" if the Trump administration continues to invoke the Alien Enemies Act this way.

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ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt spoke about the Trump administration deporting illegal immigrants to an El Salvador prison on "60 Minutes." (Screenshot/CBS)

"There are a lot of people who might hear what you’re saying and say, these people don’t have papers. They should be deported. To that, you say what?" Vega asked.

"If they are here illegally and don't have a right to stay, they can be deported back to their home country. If they've committed crimes, they can be prosecuted and perhaps spend many, many years in a U.S. prison," Gelernt said. "It's not a matter of, 'Can these individuals be punished?' It's a matter of how the government is gonna go about doing it. Once we start using wartime authority with no oversight, anything is possible. Anybody can be picked up."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The Trump administration acknowledged last week that it had mistakenly deported Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the El Salvador prison despite a federal judge ruling five years ago that he could not be deported over concerns he would become a victim of local gangs.

His request for asylum was denied, but he was given protection from deportation and ICE didn't appeal the decision.

The Trump administration has acknowledged mistakenly deporting a Salvadoran man living in Maryland to a foreign prison. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP)

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The Trump administration said Garcia’s removal was an "administrative error" but defended the decision, alleging that Garcia has ties to MS-13. 

Fox News' Brie Stimson and Bill Mears contributed to this report.