The Neighbors Not Enemies Act, which aims to remove a nearly 230-year-old legislation that targets immigrants, was reintroduced Thursday by Democratic lawmakers and Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego.
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which gives the president the power to detain or deport the residents and natives of an enemy country during times of war, would be repealed under the law. In the days ahead, it is anticipated that President Donald Trump will exploit the law to expedite his promised mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
The Federalist Party, which supported John Adams’ government, passed the statute as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts to attack Democratic-Republican party supporters, who were preferred by newly arrived immigrants.
Neighbors Not Enemies Act proponents express concern that the Trump administration may apply the Alien Enemies Act similarly.
“The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is a draconian, wartime law that gives presidents unprecedented powers to deport immigrants without a court hearing or an asylum interview,” said Vargas. Trump is now threatening to use this antiquated statute to implement his plans for mass incarceration and deportation.
“His anti-immigrant campaign has already ensnared hardworking individuals without criminal histories and innocent families. To safeguard the rights and due process of immigrants in San Diego County and nationwide, we must enact this legislation.”
The bill’s co-authors are Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota. As immigrants themselves, Omar and Hirono share this trait.
Congress has since abolished the Alien Friends Act, Naturalization Act, and Sedition Act, the three additional laws that were passed by the legislature during the Adams administration as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
But for more than 200 years, the Alien Enemies Act has been in effect. It gives the president the authority to decide on his own if and how all foreigners from a particular nation should be “apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed” in order to prevent war or “imminent threat.” During World War II, the statute was infamously utilized to internment camps for Japanese Americans.
CNN reports that Tren de Aragua, an organized crime syndicate from Venezuela that operates in the United States and other nations, is the main focus of the Trump campaign.
The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Sara Jacobs, a Democrat from San Diego.
