In recent years, immigration policy has been a centre of attraction for political debate in the United States. One such huge controversial move came when President Donald Trump’s administration invoked an not so famous and really old law the ‘Alien Enemies Act of 1798’. This was a part of its broader effort to control illegal immigration. But, what is this 1798 law and how it suddenly came back to the spotlight after more than 200 years?
A Glimpse Into the Past: The Alien and Sedition Acts
The law under the scanner is part of a set of four legislative acts passed in 1798 known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These laws were put in action under President John Adams during a time when tensions were rising between the USA and France aka the Quasi-war. Scared of foreign intrusion and influence through espionage, Congress passed various laws aimed at having a tight control over immigrants and rising discontentment.
The four laws included:
- The Naturalization Act – It extended the residency requirement for citizenship of USA.
- The Alien Friends Act – This allowed the president to deport non-citizens who seemed to be a threat to nation during peacetime.
- The Alien Enemies Act – The act allowed the president to detain or deport male nationals of enemy country during the war period.
- The Sedition Act – This was to deport or fin anyone who intended to spread hate speech towards the federal government.
Among all of these, only the Alien Enemies Act remains unchanged even today since its inception in 1798.
The Alien Enemies Act: What Does It Say?
The Alien Enemies Act (AEA) gives the President absolute authority to “apprehend, restrain, secure and remove” non-citizens who are citizens of such a country who is at war with US. Originally, it was for males over the age of 14 years. but amendments made over the years have broadened its area of application slightly.
Importantly, the law is only applicable when a war is declared or there’s a military conflict happening. It was previously applied during World War II to detain and deport citizens from countries like Germany, Italy, and Japan. However, because it is such an old law, it is rarely used in modern times.
How Did Trump Use It?
During Trump’s previous tenure, the Alien Enemies Act was used in a different way. In 2020, the Trump administration presented the AEA to justify rapid deportations of certain immigrants from countries which were considered security risks for the nation, specifically countries like Iran, Syria, and Venezuela among many others.
By declaring that these countries were a national security threat, the administration argued it could overpower the usual procedures and due diligence needed. When the U.S. was not officially at war with these countries, the administration still went ahead and created broad interpretations of “hostilities” and “national security threats” to make its case look genuine.
Critics argued that this was a clear misuse of the law, pointing out that it was never directed to serve as a covering tool for immigration enforcement. Civil liberty groups raised their concerns about due process, arbitrary detention, and profiling on the basis of race.
Why Does It Matter Today?
The reemergence of the Alien Enemies Act under Trump highlights an even bigger issue in American governance. Using such ancient laws to justify modern policies. While the law may have made sense in the 18th century, applying the same in today’s complex global context where war is something which is extremely and where migration patterns are deeply connected with humanitarian crises raises ethical and legal questions.
The fact that this law still has a position in the books opens the door for future governments to use this law in potentially more aggressive ways. That is the reason why many legal scholars and civil rights activists have called out to reform the Alien Enemies Act, arguing that immigration policy should be based on current scenarios, not 18th-century mindset.
