The centuries-old wartime law invoked by President Trump to summarily deport Venezuelans accused of gang membership was contentious from the moment it was passed and has rarely been used in U.S. history.
Before this month, the law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, had been invoked just three times: in the War of 1812, World War I and, most memorably, in World War II, when it was used to justify the internment of Japanese, Italian and German immigrants. The extent of its considerable powers has not been reviewed by the Supreme Court in more than 70 years.
The law’s roots lie in an undeclared sea conflict between a young American nation and France.
President John Adams signed the Alien Enemies Act in July 1798 as the United States came to the brink of war with France.
One in a suite of four laws collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Alien Enemies Act was a response to concerns that French immigrants might rise up against the U.S. government. An early draft of the act, rejected by lawmakers, would have punished U.S. citizens who harbored immigrants.
The law empowers the U.S. government to detain and even expel immigrants age 14 or older without a court hearing. It applies in times of declared war and when the United States faces the risk of invasion by a foreign nation — the Adams administration feared France would invade the United States by land.
Another law, the Sedition Act of 1798, cracked down on the press, making it a crime for newspapers to publish “false, scandalous and malicious” stories about the government. The Ipswich Journal of Suffolk, England, reported at the time that the passage of the laws “virtually declared” a war between the United States and France.