The Alien Enemies Act: A Dangerous Relic of Government Overreach
This article was made with the permission of the author and is based on a post from @brittanyforpa on Twitter/X.
The Alien Enemies Act is one of the most egregious examples of government overreach that has managed to endure throughout American history. Passed in 1798, alongside the equally tyrannical Sedition Acts, this law gives the president the power to detain or deport non-citizens from countries with which the United States is “at war.” This might have been sold to the public as a means of protecting national security, but the reality is clear: it’s about consolidating power and undermining the very liberties this nation was founded upon.
Let’s remember, this law was passed in a time of paranoia. The government of John Adams feared opposition to its policies and used the Alien Enemies Act to quash dissent. But in truth, it has little to do with protecting the American people and everything to do with giving the federal government sweeping powers to target foreigners without due process. That kind of unchecked power is a recipe for disaster in any free society.
The danger of the Alien Enemies Act is that it remains on the books today, even though Congress hasn’t declared a war since World War II. In the last several decades, we’ve witnessed presidents from both parties engage in wars across multiple continents, from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond, without any formal declarations of war from Congress. Instead, we get endless military interventions, occupations, and bombing campaigns—rubber-stamped by Congress, which continues to funnel our tax dollars into these conflicts. So, what does “at war” even mean in this day and age?
The Alien Enemies Act becomes even more dangerous in this context. If the president can wage wars without congressional approval, and if the United States is involved in military actions in multiple regions across the globe, then who is defined as an “enemy”? The potential for abuse is staggering. Under this law, the president could use these vague and undeclared “wars” to justify targeting individuals from nearly any country we have a military presence in. The Alien Enemies Act turns the president into a monarch with the power to strip people of their rights simply by labeling them a threat.
We’ve seen where this unchecked power leads. During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the Alien Enemies Act to detain and intern thousands of Japanese-Americans, most of whom were loyal U.S. citizens. This act of government tyranny was justified under the guise of “national security,” but in reality, it was nothing more than state-sanctioned racism and fear-mongering. The lessons of history are clear—laws like this don’t protect freedom; they destroy it.
It’s important to recognize that this law is still a threat today. The Alien Enemies Act has not been repealed, and it could be invoked at any moment under the right circumstances. As a libertarian, I know that liberty can only be preserved when the power of government is tightly restrained. The Alien Enemies Act is a perfect example of what happens when government power goes unchecked.
If we truly value liberty, we must be willing to challenge the government when it overreaches. The Alien Enemies Act, along with the broader authority given to the president to wage undeclared wars, represents a violation of the Constitution and an assault on individual rights. Congress has abandoned its responsibility to declare war, leaving the executive branch free to wage wars wherever and whenever it sees fit, often in countries most Americans couldn’t point to on a map.
And let’s be clear: this law serves the interests of politicians, not the people. Politicians can continue waging endless wars, draining our nation’s wealth and resources, while using laws like the Alien Enemies Act to suppress dissent and expand their power. This is not the vision of liberty that our founders fought for.
If we want to protect our future, we must demand that Congress take action. It’s time to repeal the Alien Enemies Act and end the practice of allowing presidents to wage war without congressional approval. We cannot continue to allow the government to use fear and war as excuses to erode our liberties. It’s time to stand up for freedom, return to constitutional principles, and ensure that the power of government is restrained—before it’s too late.
This piece solely expresses the opinions of the author, and not necessarily the Classical Liberal Caucus as a whole.
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