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Former President Donald Trump has pledged to dig up the 1798 Alien Enemies Act from the archives and the death penalty for migrants who commit violent crimes against American citizens or law enforcement officers in his anti-immigrant bid.
The Times of India reports that while speaking at Madison Square Garden in New York, he said, “I will invoke the Alien Enemy Act of 1798… think of that. That’s how far back… they had law and order… They had tough ones. Get ready.”
The law allows for the deportation of foreign nationals from enemy countries during wartime, underscoring Trump’s proposed approach to combat illegal immigration.
The Alien Enemies Act, part of the Alien and Sedition Acts passed in 1798 by a Federalist-controlled Congress, aimed to regulate immigrants amidst rising tensions with France. Anticipating conflict, the act empowered the President to detain or deport foreign nationals from enemy countries during wartime, targeting recent immigrants who might align with US adversaries.
Primarily directed at immigrants from France and Ireland, who were largely pro-French, the Alien laws raised the naturalization period from 5 to 14 years, authorized detention of foreign nationals from enemy countries, and allowed the President to expel any alien deemed a security threat. Unlike other laws in the series, which restricted speech and extended citizenship requirements, the Alien Enemies Act remained in effect long-term, granting future presidents similar powers in subsequent conflicts.
The act was one of the first to leverage immigration control as a national security measure.
Under the act, the President can detain or deport any male over 14 years old from an enemy nation if they are considered a potential threat.
The President may also limit where these individuals can travel or require them to report regularly to government authorities.
The act enables measures that, theoretically, protect the US by controlling or mitigating potential risks posed by foreign nationals from hostile nations.
Earlier in Aurora, Colorado, Trump had announced “Operation Aurora,” a proposed initiative targeting undocumented migrants if he were to be re-elected. Addressing supporters, He accused Vice President Kamala Harris of enabling illegal immigration, saying, “Kamala has imported an army of illegal alien gang members and migrant criminals from the dungeons of the Third World.” He described Aurora as “overrun” by Venezuelan gang members despite local officials, including Republicans, refuting such claims.
“I’m hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or law enforcement officer,” he said to the enthusiastic crowd in Aurora.
Despite statistics from the Aurora Police Department showing a decline in major crime rates since last year, Trump continued to characterize migrants as a threat, using language that suggested they posed a public health risk. “They’re very sick, very sick. They’re coming into our country… very, very sick with highly contagious disease.
This follows unproven claims Trump had made at a previous rally, where he alleged that Haitian migrants in Springford were “killing and eating pets” – a state meant state authorities have dismissed as baseless.
