The 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts

The next president falsely believes he can use these to deport 20 million undocumented immigrants and their American-born children.

Issue #769 The Choice, Tuesday, November 19, 2024

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The next president has promised to start mass deportations of undocumented immigrants on his first day in office. He plans to force the military and local law enforcement agencies to round up anyone he thinks is undocumented. 

There are several problems with this (of course there are):

• The program only targets brown and Black immigrants.

• Even undocumented immigrants pay millions in taxes from which they cannot receive benefits and spend tens of millions in the economy.

• Very few undocumented immigrants commit crimes, although the MAGAs escalate any crime to unnecessary attention, trying to cast all undocumented immigrants as dangerous criminals falsely.

• Documented immigrants and American citizens may be caught up in this program.

• Undocumented immigrants make up the majority of people who pick and pack our fruits and vegetables, work in meat-packing plants and nursing homes, and work on construction projects all around the country.

• If undocumented immigrants also have American-born children, it is planned to deport them as well, although the 14th Amendment protects the American citizenship of the children.

The next president claims that the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts give him the authority to carry out these mass deportations. Of course, he is wrong, not that he cares.

Additionally, the stocks of private prisons rose sharply after the elections because the owners believed that many of the people arrested would be detained (without due process) in their facilities.

The Alien and Sedition Acts were a series of four laws passed by the United States Congress in 1798 during the presidency of John Adams. These laws were enacted in a tense political climate amid fears of war with France and domestic unrest. They included:

1. The Naturalization Act extended the residency requirement for immigrants to become U.S. citizens from 5 to 14 years.

2. The Alien Friends Act allowed the President to detain and deport non-citizens who were deemed dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, even during peacetime.

3. The Alien Enemies Act authorized the deportation or detention of any male citizen (14 years or older) of a hostile nation during times of war.

4. The Sedition Act: This made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government or its officials.

These acts were highly controversial and were argued to infringe upon individual liberties, particularly the freedom of speech and the press, and targeted immigrants as potential threats to national security.

The Alien and Sedition Acts are no longer active laws, and their provisions would generally not be directly applicable today. However, here's how some of the themes might relate to the plans of the next president:

• Detention and Deportation Powers: The concept of detaining and deporting non-citizens deemed dangerous has persisted in various forms within U.S. immigration policy. Current immigration laws, such as those enforced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), give the government considerable authority to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, particularly those with criminal records or who are considered threats to national security.

• Public Safety and National Security: The rationale used during enacting the Alien and Sedition Acts—protecting the nation from foreign threats—continues to be a significant justification for immigration enforcement. Policies may focus on national security concerns when deciding on deportation priorities. This was the rationale for the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, even though most of them were American citizens who had been here for two or more generations.

• Civil Liberties Concerns: Similar to the Sedition Act’s restriction on free speech, modern debates often focus on balancing national security with civil liberties, including freedom of speech and due process rights for immigrants.

During this new administration, we have the choice to continue to be vigilant about these attacks on the Constitution and the rule of law and the next president's attempts to do whatever he wants, even if those actions are against the law or impractical. 

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