Urge Congress to Repeal the Alien Enemies Act

and Say, "Never Again."

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 grants the government wide-ranging power to imprison and deport non-citizens from enemy states at war with or invading the United States. The act removes due process rights for individuals targeted by the law when applied.

In the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt swiftly invoked the Alien Enemies Act to round up and imprison Japanese nationals who held positions of leadership in the Japanese American community.  At the time, none of those people had the opportunity to become US citizens because US law did not allow it. Within two months, over 2,000 Japanese immigrants were imprisoned, eventually, that total would rise to 9,000. 

Although the Alien Enemies Act's reach covers only non-US citizens, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, just over two months after the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. The subsequent establishment of the coastal exclusion zone led to the incarceration of over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry through a combination of the Alien Enemies Act and Executive Order 9066.

As we now know today, the implementation of the Alien Enemies Act and Executive Order 9066 stripped Japanese and Japanese Americans of their right to due process. Evidence we have learned of since the war proved that there was no real threat from Japanese Americans, and the real motivation for incarceration was racism.

President Trump has now invoked the Alien Enemies Act to target Venezuelan immigrants and already used it to arrest and deport hundreds of people without any due process, only specious accusations based on tattoos and social media posts, but not necessarily actual evidence of criminal activity.

The Supreme Court infamously affirmed the right of the government to take actions to preserve the security of our nation in the cases of Hirabayashi, Korematsu, and Yasui, while also affirming the right to due process in the case of ex parte Endo. The Alien Enemies Act deprives people of that constitutional right to due process affirmed by the Supreme Court.

Together, we can ensure that "Never Again" is more than a promise. Contact your members of Congress and urge them to oppose the President's use of the Alien Enemies Act and co-sponsor the Neighbors Not Enemies Act to repeal the Alien Enemies Act.  

Write to your Representative and Senators NOW and tell them to endorse the Neighbors Not Enemies Act