Donald Trump Has A Bizarre Idea to Deal With Major Election Issue: "We Have to Go Back to 1798"

At a recent rally in Greenville, North Carolina, Donald Trump made headlines with a striking statement — he proposed invoking a law from 1798, the Alien Enemies Act, to deal with modern-day immigration issues. Trump told his supporters that in order to remove migrant criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, the U.S. needed to ‘go back to 1798’ when politicians were, in his words, tougher. Trump explained, "Think of that—1798. That’s when we had real politicians that said ‘We’re not gonna play games.’ We have to go back to 1798—to target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil. We’re gonna knock the hell out of them,” as reported by The Daily Beast.

The Alien Enemies Act, one of four laws passed as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, was created during a time when the U.S. feared a possible war with France. The Act allows the president to detain, deport, or relocate non-citizens from a country considered an enemy of the U.S. during wartime.

Unlike the other parts of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were repealed or expired, the Alien Enemies Act remains in effect today, though it has rarely been used in recent history. The law states, “Whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government … and the President of the United States shall make public proclamation of the event, all natives…shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies.”

It was first invoked during the War of 1812 against British nationals and again during World War I when President Woodrow Wilson used it to detain over 6,000 German nationals. The most controversial use of the Alien Enemies Act came during World War II when President Franklin Roosevelt invoked it to justify the internment of Japanese, German, and Italian nationals.

Despite its controversial history, Trump is now reviving the idea of using the Alien Enemies Act in his bid for the White House. He claimed, “I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil,” as noted by NPR. However, local officials, such as those in Aurora, Colorado, where Trump claimed a Venezuelan gang had taken control, have brushed off his claims, calling the gang’s influence ‘isolated.’ 

Nonetheless, a while ago in Arizona, Trump said, “Those were the old days when they had tough politicians…Think of that, 1798. Oh, it’s a powerful act. You couldn’t pass something like that today.” One major hurdle to Trump’s proposal is the fact that the Alien Enemies Act can only be invoked during a declared war. The United States has not declared war since World War II, and legal experts argue that trying to classify illegal immigration or gang activity as an ‘invasion’ could face prominent legal hurdles. Furthermore, many experts highlighted that the U.S. government already has the authority to arrest, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants under existing immigration laws without needing to resort to the Alien Enemies Act.