Alien Enemies Act Stories

What is the Alien Enemies Act & How was it Used?

The 1798 laws known collectively as the “Alien and Sedition Acts” were a set of four bills targeting immigrants under the guise of war. While three of the acts have since expired or been repealed, the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) remains in effect to this day.

Over 80 years after it was used to detain 17,000 Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans during World War II, without evidence of wrongdoing, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 has resurfaced. On March 15, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order to invoke the law to deport Venezuelan nationals to a prison in El Salvador—without notice or due process available under the immigration laws. The AEA allows the government to detain and remove non-citizens from “hostile nations without evidence of a threat to national security.” Until repealed, it remains a sweeping tool to target communities under the guise of national security.