July 6, 1798: Alien Enemies Act Signed Into Law

The Alien Enemies Act was signed into law by President John Adams on July 6, 1798, one of four laws enacted that year known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 permits the president to target, detain, and deport people in the United States based on their citizenship and nationality without due process.

Mel Haasch/Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana. Source: Brennan Center

As  explained by host Ramtin Arablouei and professor Daniel Tichenor on an episode of NPR’s Throughline,

Arablouei: The Alien Enemies Act was drafted in 1798, more than a decade after the end of the Revolutionary War. The country was deeply polarized. On one side were the Federalists, Alexander Hamilton’s Party, and the party of John Adams, who was the president at this time. They wanted a strong federal government and a close relationship with England. On the other side, Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party wanted the opposite — power divided between states and a cozy alliance with the French, whose navy was busy waging a war with the English. . . .

Tichenor: The Alien Enemies Act, in particular, gave presidents broad authority to apprehend, detain, and remove noncitizens who were aged 14 years or older, who are from a hostile nation or government when that country was in a declared war with the U.S., or was in an active invasion of U.S. territory.

The Alien Enemies Act was invoked during the War of 1812 (against British nationals), World War I (against people from Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), and World War II (against people of Japanese, German, or Italian nationalities). Since taking office for a second term in January 2025 (and in the months prior on the campaign trail), the Trump administration has invoked the Alien Enemies Act against Venezualan asylum seekers, alleged gang members, and pro-Palestine organizers.

Additional Resources

The Alien Enemies Act: What to Know About a 1798 Law That Trump Has Invoked for Deportations by Tim Sullivan and Mark Sherman (AP News)

The Alien Enemies Act Paved the Way for Japanese American Incarceration. Let’s Keep It in the Past. (Densho Catalyst)

The Alien Enemies Act, Explained by Katherine Yon Ebright (Brennan Center for Justice)