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| This is the official document from 1798. |
What is the Alien Enemies Act?
The
Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is a wartime authority that allows the president to
detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy nation. The law permits
the president to target these immigrants without a hearing and based only on
their country of birth or citizenship. Although the law was enacted to prevent
foreign espionage and sabotage in wartime, it can be — and has been — wielded
against immigrants who have done nothing wrong, have evinced no signs of
disloyalty, and are lawfully present in the United States. It is an overbroad
authority that may violate constitutional rights in wartime and is subject to
abuse in peacetime.
Has the Alien Enemies Act been used
in the past?
The
Alien Enemies Act has been invoked three times, each time during a major
conflict: the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. In World Wars I and
II, the law was a key authority behind detentions, expulsions, and restrictions
targeting German, Austro-Hungarian, Japanese, and Italian immigrants based
solely on their ancestry. The law is best known for its role in Japanese
internment, a shameful part of U.S. history for which Congress, presidents, and
the courts have apologized.
Under what conditions can the
president invoke the Alien Enemies Act?
The
president may invoke the Alien Enemies Act in times of “declared war” or when a
foreign government threatens or undertakes an “invasion” or “predatory
incursion” against U.S. territory. The Constitution gives Congress, not the
president, the power to declare war, so the president must wait for democratic
debate and a congressional vote to invoke the Alien Enemies Act based on a
declared war. But the president need not wait for Congress to invoke the law
based on a threatened or ongoing invasion or predatory incursion. The president
has inherent authority to repel these kinds of sudden attacks — an authority
that necessarily implies the discretion to decide when an invasion or predatory
incursion is underway.
The Bonehead-in-Cheese thought it would be a "good idea" to invoke this act in order to speed up his mass deportation of "illegal aliens".
You remember. "Bad hombres."
Thankfully the courts are stepping in and, for the time being, putting the breaks on his shenanigans. AGAIN.
His biggest problem with invoking this war time act, aside from the narrow scope of it, in March 2025, we're NOT at war with ANY country right now. That's one of Congress' jobs, to invoke and call it a "war."
Now, of course Trump has said, "We've been invaded by these thugs, criminals and gang members." Makes him sound tough, which we know, he isn't.
And then ICE isn't specifically targeting any "gang members", but people he and his admenstruation "perceive to be gang members. Big difference.
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| US District Judge James Boasberg |
Judge Boasberg has called out the Trump Admenstruation for its handling of undocumented immigrants and their swift, no-due-process expulsion from the U.S. For their part the administration has stumbled, hemmed and hahhed, grasping at straws to come up with a valid,
real reason(s) for those deportations.
*Crickets.*
Stay Tuned.
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