‘I didn’t sign it’: Trump denies role in Alien Enemies Act order bearing his signature

Throughout the day, Trump repeatedly emphasized that he was focused on keeping “bad people” out of the country.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he did not sign the controversial proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of gang ties, despite the document bearing his signature in the Federal Register.

“I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,” Trump said on the White House South Lawn before departing for his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. “Other people handled it. But Marco Rubio’s done a great job. And he wanted them out, and we go along with that.”

However, the proclamation—cited as the legal basis for the rapid deportation of migrants allegedly tied to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang—was signed by Trump, according to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung.

Cheung later clarified that Trump’s remarks referred to the original Alien Enemies Act of 1798, not the recent executive order. “The recent executive order was personally signed by President Trump invoking the Alien Enemies Act,” Cheung said, according to The Washington Post.

The administration has faced legal challenges over the deportations, with court filings revealing that many of the migrants removed had no criminal records in the U.S. Immigration officials argued that lack of a U.S. criminal record “does not indicate they pose a limited threat.”

The Post report also noted speculation that the proclamation may have been signed using an autopen—a mechanical device that replicates signatures—rather than by Trump himself. The Justice Department has deemed autopen signatures legally valid, though Trump has previously dismissed the practice as inauthentic.

Trump’s comments came as a federal judge scrutinized the secrecy surrounding the proclamation, questioning why it was “essentially signed in the dark” before deportation flights began. The White House announced the executive action only after preparations were already underway to remove 137 Venezuelan migrants.

Asked whether he would approve further deportation flights despite a court order blocking them, Trump deflected. “I’d have the secretary of state handle it, because I’m not really involved in that,” he said, adding that Rubio “has a lot of big decisions to make” following the judge’s ruling.

Throughout the day, Trump repeatedly emphasized that he was focused on keeping “bad people” out of the country. “Murderers, rapists, drug dealers—these are really some bad people,” he said. “I ran on that. I won on that.”