WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) reintroduced the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, legislation to fully repeal the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA). Part of the "Alien and Sedition Acts," the AEA is the only remaining law from this deeply problematic set of statutes that targeted immigrants under the guise of national security. While the other three acts have expired or been repealed, the AEA remains in effect, granting sweeping powers to the president to detain or deport foreign nationals from a specific country.
“We cannot allow antiquated laws to continue enabling discriminatory practices that harm immigrant communities,” said Rep. Omar. "The Alien Enemies Act has been used to target immigrants based solely on their nationality, leading to shameful chapters in our history like the internment of Japanese, Italian, and German-Americans during World War II. President Trump’s new administration is also threatening to use this law for sweeping detentions and deportations of immigrants without due process based solely on national origin. Repealing this law is a necessary step toward creating an immigration system rooted in justice and compassion.”
“In his war on immigrants, Donald Trump has made clear that he will stop at nothing to carry out mass deportations, including invoking the archaic, little knownAlien Enemies Act of 1798,”said Senator Hirono.“TheNeighbors Not Enemies Actwould finally repeal this draconian, xenophobic law to prevent immigrants from being deported without basic due process. Even though Trump insists that he is targeting ‘foreign gangs’ and ‘criminal networks,’ we know that the deportations won’t end there. I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Representative Omar, as we reaffirm our commitment to continue doing everything we can to protect immigrant communities across the country.”
"The Alien Enemies Act is an outdated and dangerous law that violates rights in wartime and could be weaponized against immigrants in peacetime.The law’s role in World War II-era internments underscores its incompatibility with some of our most cherished values — the rights to a fair hearing and to be judged by conduct and character, not race or place of birth. The Neighbors Not Enemies Act would finally get this shameful law off the books" said Katherine Yon Ebright, Counsel for the Liberty & National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice.
"The Alien Enemies Act represents a shameful chapter of American history that should be closed unequivocally--not reopened, as President Trump has threatened to do," said Sumayyah Waheed, Senior Policy Counsel, Muslim Advocates. "WethankRep. Omar and Sen. Hirono for their leadership and solidarity in introducing the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, which would repeal this law steeped in xenophobia and racism, and urge Congress to swiftly pass it."
“The Alien Enemies Act is an archaic law that gives the President excessive and wide ranging powers to strip people, who are lawfully in this country and with no supporting evidence, of their fundamental civil rights simply because of their nation of origin. This was last used against Japanese, German, and Italians at the beginning of WWII, but soon expanded through executive order to imprison over 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans living on the West Coast, without due process and without regard to American citizenship or the fact Japanese immigrants could not become American citizens at the time. Passage of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act will serve to ensure the individual rights that were so egregiously stolen from Japanese Americans during WWII” said the Japanese American Citizens League.
The Alien Enemies Act allows the president to unilaterally determine how and if all foreign nationals from a specific country should be “apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed” during times of war or “imminent threat.” This provision has enabled the abuse of executive power, allowing entire groups of people to be targeted based solely on their national origin. Rep. Omar and Sen. Hirono’s bill seeks to prevent future administrations from exploiting this archaic law to sow division and harm immigrant communities.
The bill is cosponsored by Rep. André Carson (IN-07), Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35), Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-3), Rep. Valerie Foushee (NC-4), Rep. Jesús G. “Chuy” García (IL-4), Rep. Al Green (TX-9), Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7), Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-5), Rep. Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-4), Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12), Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-7), Rep. James P. McGovern (MA-2), Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Rep. Grace Meng (NY-6), Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-4), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-2), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), Rep. Delia Ramírez (IL-3), Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-3), Rep. Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Rep. Adam Smith (WA-9), Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-1), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-2), Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-52), and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14).
The Neighbors Not Enemies Act is endorsed by 20+ organizations representing and preserving the memory of former World War II internees and incarcerees under the Alien Enemies Act and Executive Order 9066, including the Amache Alliance, Campaign for Justice, Crystal City Pilgrimage Committee, Denshō, German American Internee Coalition, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project, Jerome Rohwer Committee, Manzanar Committee, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee, Poston Community Alliance, Tule Lake Committee, and Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition.
It is endorsed by 60+ other civil rights, good governance, immigration, religious, and veterans organizations, including ACLU, The Advocates for Human Rights, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Asian Law Alliance, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Brennan Center for Justice, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), The Chamberlain Network, Church World Service, Center for Victims of Torture, Defending Rights & Dissent, Fred T. Korematsu Institute, German-American Heritage Foundation & Museum, Italian American Heritage Society of Chicago, Japanese American Citizens League, Muslim Advocates, Muslim Public Affairs Council, National Immigration Law Center, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Protect Democracy, Public Counsel, The Sikh Coalition, Third Way, Tsuru for Solidarity, United We Dream Network, Veterans for American Ideals, and Win Without War.
You can read the full bill text here.