Reuters - U. President Donald Trump said he planned to invoke the Alien Enemies Act as part of his pledge to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally. Below is a look at the act and how it has been used in the past. The Alien Enemies Act was enacted in to combat spying and sabotage during tensions with France. It authorizes the president to deport, detain or place restrictions on individuals whose primary allegiance is to a foreign power and who might pose a national security risk in wartime.
The act states it can be invoked "whenever there is a declared war" or "any invasion or predatory incursion" that has been perpetrated, attempted or threatened against the United States by a foreign government.
The act requires the president to publicly proclaim the event that prompted the act to be invoked. The act remains in effect until the president terminates it. The law was used in the War of between the United States and Britain and in both World Wars and was used to detain and deport individuals, as well as restrict their freedom. President Woodrow Wilson used the act to bar citizens of enemies of the United States from possessing firearms and explosives, residing in certain areas and publishing certain materials, among other restrictions.
President Harry Truman continued to use the act until , after hostilities had ceased in World War Two, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Individuals have sued to challenge their detention or removal, but most of the cases have turned on questions of the person's citizenship. The act has been upheld as constitutional and the Supreme Court has said it can even be used after wartime. In , the Supreme Court ruled the government could deport Kurt Ludecke, a former Nazi who fell out with the party, escaped a concentration camp and came to the United States, even though the war with Germany was over.
The court said it would have been impractical to deport him while the war was going on. Though some Democratic lawmakers in the U. House and Senate reintroduced a bill in January that would repeal the Alien Enemies Act, pointing to its use in the internment of Americans and arguing it violates civil and individual rights.
