The Alien Enemy Act - What Trump is Promising America
And you thought they were coming for you neighbor - but they really were coming for you...
History is the best teacher, and to ignore the lessons of our forebears, is to repeat the tragedies they were forced to endure.
One such lesson, is the internment camps during WWII - where Japanese Americans - “American citizens” - were rounded up because this nation and its president feared these new adoptees would turn on their new-found homeland. This endeavor, a cringeworthy undertaking to say the least, remains a blight on America, a blight it will forever have to endure.
From the mid 1800’s to mid 1900’s many Japanese immigrated to America in search of a better life. They came to America taking jobs as laborers on railroads, oil fields, canneries and farms.
Coming to America
The Japanese who came to American from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, like every immigrant before them - came in search of a better life. But that better life abruptly ended when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. That attack awoke a sleeping giant, embroiling the US in a homeland attack unimaginable at a time with when war was believed to be confined to Europe. With this attack on American soil, WWII became a reality for America.
The US now flanked on its own west coast by the Japanese, while helping European allies fight the German Nazi regime of Hitler in Europe to the east. It was a time when then president Roosevelt had the daunting task of safeguarding the US homeland from the zealotry of the Japanese, while helping our allies repel and fight the wrath and fury of Hitler in Europe. The enemies were moving targets on all sides, and the Japanese in America - many American citizens and children, were inextricably caught-up, and vilified in the process.
According to the Library of Congress in response to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii:
Hours after the attack, U.S. security personnel began rounding up and arresting prominent Japanese Americans—businessmen, journalists, teachers, and civic officials—as security risks. Within a week, more than 2,000 Issei [Japanese immigrants], the leaders of the Japanese American community, were behind bars. The press responded with a wave of paranoid hysteria, publishing virulent attacks on Japanese Americans and demonizing them as spies, saboteurs, and enemy agents. [Sound familiar?] More ad hoc internments followed, and Japanese Americans throughout the West Coast began to be forced out of their jobs, subjected to warrantless military searches, and abused and attacked in public places.
In February of 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the U.S. military to evacuate any and all persons from "military areas" and provide accommodation for them elsewhere. In March, the army issued its first Civilian Exclusion Orders, requiring that "all Japanese persons, both alien and non-alien, will be evacuated" from a number of areas on the Pacific coast and confined to "relocation camps" further inland. By the middle of November, all of California and much of Washington and Oregon had been declared military areas, and 100,000 Japanese Americans, Nisei [native born,] and Issei [immigrant], citizen and non-citizen alike, had been uprooted and transferred hundreds or thousands of miles away from home. By the end of the war in 1945, 125,000 people, half of them children, had spent time in what even Roosevelt admitted were concentration camps.
Not only were Japanese immigrants and American-born “citizens” - including children relegated to military camps under armed guard, they were held there under threat of death should they attempt to escape. As a whole, Japanese families and businesses were forced to relinquish their life’s work and assets: liquidate their businesses and homes in just a few days - losing the value of their assets, security - and their freedom. But not unlike today, those Americans who were not subject to sequestration and liquidation of their assets - those not subject to the “race-based” government mandates - didn’t much seem to care about those who were.
For the Japanese Americans who were forced into internment, the relocation process was a nightmare of dislocation and uncertainty. Once an exclusion order was issued, Japanese Americans were given one week in which to register with the authorities, gather whatever possessions they could carry, and report to an assembly center nearby. The evacuees were required to liquidate their assets in few days, and so homeowners were required to sell their houses, and business owners their farms, stores, and restaurants, hurriedly and at steep discounts, often for pennies on the dollar. The assembly centers were usually converted racetracks and fairgrounds, where thousands of people slept in stables, livestock stalls, or the open air while they waited to be transported to their assigned internment camps.
How Did This All Happen?
After the US Constitution was ratified in 1788, this new Congress passed legislation known as the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, ten years later. The purpose of these Alien Acts was to criminalize dissent - even though it advocated abuse of civil liberties, and violated the Constitution, and the “Bill of Rights” - which was separately ratified in 1791 - just seven years before the ratification of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
However, some of these “Alien Acts” were repealed or had expired, save for the “Alien Enemies Act” which remarkably, survives to this day. Because it is still “on the books,” such Draconian measures could be implemented again - and most troubling - without a declaration of war. According to statute, if the president deems something as an “invasion,” this could “trigger” military action against any population deemed the “enemy from within.”
Notably, Trump has used this term of art time and again, referring to immigrants - namely Latino immigrants - but that need not stop there. Even though the US is not currently at war, crime is down, and the only major threat resides in his own mind - a roque president could call up the military - and could arguably do even more.
Beyond imprisoning immigrants in internment camps, such a “commander in chief” could potentially imprison his political enemies as “collaborators” with “enemy” invaders - and that is what Trump has repeatedly threatened to do. He has set the stage, already threatening the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, President Biden, and VP Harris, and other high-ranking officials - claiming they have let immigrants invade this nation - viewing the immigrants as enemy combatants - despite many of these immigrants being women and children. All of this begs the question: Who would have the ability to thwart such a rogue president? A president who has been given unlimited power by the US Supreme Court - power akin to a king?
Historical Perspective
Throughout history, the Alien Enemies Act has been invoked three times:
During the War of 1812, it was invoked by then President James Madison against British nationals during the War of 1812. As noted previously, this particular statute remains in effect: Chapter 3, Sections 21–24 of Title 50 of the United States Code.
During World War I, for individuals termed “alien enemies” – all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of Germany and its allies (including American-born women who married German men) – showing loyalty required a number of additional parameters and processes.
During World War II - used to imprison tens of thousands of innocent “citizen and noncitizens” of Japanese ancestry; and immigrant “noncitizens” of German, and Italian descent were also placed in internment camps during World War II.
What Did Thomas Jefferson - Think About the Alien and Sedition Acts?
Thomas Jefferson was vehemently opposed to the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798 which granted the President enormous powers showing that the government had become a tyranny which desired to govern with "a rod of iron" (1798). Conversely, Donald Trump exalts this “tyranny” with pride, chanting: “Let’s call it Project 1798.” “Clearly if Thomas Jefferson were alive today, this would be the sort of “originalism” he would again vehemently oppose.
What Does the Alien and Sedition Acts Say?
Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, with the support of the John Adams’ Administration.
The Alien Act granted the President unilateral authority to deport non-citizens who were subjects of foreign enemies. The Sedition Act attacked the core of free speech and a free press—the right to criticize the government. The atmosphere of partisan politics was particularly fraught in the 1790s—with the rise of the partisan press and the development of rival political parties. The Alien and Sedition Acts stacked the deck against the political opposition, criminalizing criticism of Federalist President John Adams, but not Vice President Thomas Jefferson—the leader of the political opposition. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison fought back, arguing in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions that the Acts violated the First Amendment’s protection of free speech and a free press. While the Supreme Court never ruled on the constitutionality of the Alien and Sedition Acts, Jefferson defeated Adams in the election of 1800. Once in office, President Jefferson allowed the Acts to expire and pardoned those convicted under them.
Trump’s Threatens to Imprison ‘His’ Political Rivals as ‘Enemies Within’
It is no secret that Donald Trump has threatened both the former Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and those involved in his impeachment inquiries - including members of the January 6 Commission investigating the attempted coup on January 6, 2021, at the nation’s Capitol - including those who oppose his candidacy. After much investigation, the “Commission” determined the mob was assembled and sent to the Capitol at the behest of then president Donald Trump, because Vice-President Pence refused to do Donald Trump’s bidding - that is, “refuse” to count the “official” certified ballots from the respective states that would declare Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election.
Because of Vice-President Pence’s rightful refusal to engage in fraud perpetrated by then president Trump against the American democracy and its people, Trump called out Pence’s refusal to an awaiting crowd. A noose and gallows were summarily constructed on Capitol grounds by enraged Trump supporters chanting “Hang Mike Pence.” The hostile crowd called Pence a traitor, while hostile acolytes hunted him down. To make matters worse, when Trump was informed that Mike Pence was in danger, he did nothing to intervene to quell the situation or bring him to safety - instead his retort to his staff informing him was “So What?” Clearly he exhibited callous indifference to the safety and well-being of his own Vice-President, let alone police officers battling the mob at the Capitol, while trying to protect the legislators inside.
Generals Speak Out
Since this time, former generals: including General Mark Milley - who was then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the nation's highest-ranking military officer and the principal military advisor to the president), Gen. James Mattis as Secretary of Defense who resigned in disgust, and his former Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark Kelley all have spoken out on Trump’s unsuitability and temperament to once again be president. They reference not only Trump’s unfitness to be commander-in-chief, but his penchant for dictators - like Hitler, Putin, and Kim Jong Un. And it has recently come to the media’s attention, by way of his former Chief of Staff General John Kelly, that Trump stated Hitler did some good things, and that he wants General’s like Hitler had as part of his chain of command.
Notably, Trump has indicated the direction he wants to take with those he deems his political rivals and enemies: imprisoning those who he believes have done him wrong - including legislators, judges, the January 6 Committee, the former Speaker of the House and those involved in his multiple impeachments. He has in-artfully labeled all those who have opposed him “enemies from within” - quite an irony, when the indisputable facts are clear: he is the one and only one of those he points a finger - a former president and convicted felon, found guilty “34 times” by everyday Americans - a jury of his peers.
It is the hope and prayer of many Americans, that such a revolting individual lose this election. That voters see the wolf in sheep’s clothing, or in Trump’s own words see the “snake” for what he truly is. But should such a dystopian nightmare come to pass, the last hope is that the uniformed military will revolt, and reign fury upon a man who wants to be Hitler - a man desperately wanting to be the modern-day Fuhrer.
Russian Assets Abound…
So a man who is hawking Bibles and watches, trading cards, bit coins, and all sorts of paraphernalia, is courting the world’s richest man to fund his assault on democracy. Despite all this, he still needs to curry the votes of the American people to put him in office. And if he should win, if there are enough people oblivious to his ruse, say goodbye to democracy - and hello dictator friend of Hitler, Putin and Kim. If that is the case, the press better start packing their bags - and rightfully so, as they once again whitewashed a crook, a liar, and cheat to gain him the nation’s highest office. But alas, they will all inevitably lose their jobs, unless they are the “lucky” selected loyalists chosen to work on unTruth Social and State-Sponsored Fox TV.
So for those voters on the fence - those undecided on whether to choose autocracy or democracy, you must quickly decide. If you don’t vote for Kamala Harris - you must take Trump at his word: If you cast your vote for him, you will never have to vote again - and that can only mean one thing. The “end” of American democracy, and the end of voters ever having any say. A vote for Trump, will position him to be a dictator for life: and anyone “foolish” enough to think they will be in a protected class - will be unpleasantly surprised. Trump will dump anyone who is not servile to him, or provide anything of value. He will drop and discard them as he did when his old lawyer and evil mentor Roy Cohn, when he was on his deathbed and of no obvious use, just as he did having his then Attorney General, Bill Barr put his former lawyer Michael Cohen in solitary confinement after Cohen refused to stop writing a tell-all book.
The Ropes
Roy Cohn was the corrupt lawyer who years back mentored daddy Trump and Donald on how to get government housing contracts while discriminating against people of color. Yet, just like with Roy who was abandoned when he was dying, and wasn’t able to serve Trump anymore - he will do that to those who voted for him, as they like Cohn and Cohen will be discarded and abandoned once they are no longer needed. Anyone who has deluded themselves otherwise, will have a rude awakening as their surprise.
As the Brennan Center has documented, there are very few guardrails to prevent a president from abusing the Aliens Enemy law. So Congress should certainly repeal it forthwith. Notably, it should have been repealed long ago, but so often presidents have exercised self-restraint. But clearly, this is not the case anymore, and new statutes are needed to hold rogue presidents accountable, along with executive branch officials counseling him on rogue directives to pursue.
If you see this as a National Emergency as I do, call your elected member of Congress and Senators to make your sentiments known: Repeal the Alien Enemy Act now. America and Democracy cannot withstand another term of an “undisciplined” president - one that is a threat to the American people, democracy, and the free world - someone like Donald Trump.
If you are alarmed like you should - Vote Blue up and down the ticket to Make America Work “For the People” - not for Billionaire dictators and rogue want-to-be-dictators like Trump.
Copyright 2024, Mary Kay Elloian, MBA, JD, Esq. - The Legal Edition® - Legal, Business & Policy News, TheLegalEdition.com All Rights Reserved.
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