Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798
The current administration has used the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to support deportation of Venezuelan gang members. This Act dates back to 1798. Congress and President John Adams of the fledging United States were concerned about national security, foreign influences, and internal political tensions. Congress passed, and Adams signed into law four laws collectively known as the ‘Alien and Sedition Acts.’
Background
The 1792 French Revolution led to war between France and England. With the 1778 treaty between the U.S. and France still in effect, France expected America’s support. After all, the French thought, if they supported the U.S. in its revolution, shouldn’t the U.S. reciprocate?
At the time, the United States was a small, weak nation compared to the major European powers. For example, France’s population was over five times larger than America’s. President Washington declared neutrality, wanting to avoid entanglement in Europe’s wars.
The French navy began to seize American merchant ships trading with Britain. President John Adams sent diplomats to France to negotiate peace. French agents, referred to as X, Y, and Z in U.S. reports, demanded a bribe of $250,000 and a large loan to France as conditions for talks. Outraged by this insult, the American public rallied behind the slogan “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.” A “Quasi-War then broke out between the United States and France, comprised of naval clashes and ship seizures by both sides.
Political Tensions
The young nation was already marked with partisanship between the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. President John Adams and Alexander Hamilton led the Federalists. They favored a strong centralized Federal government. They leaned towards England in the conflict due to close economic ties.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison led the Democratic-Republicans favoring limited federal power. They saw similarities between the French and American revolutions, sympathizing with the French.
Holding a majority in Congress, the Federalists passed four acts intended to limit criticism of the Federal Government and control perceived national security issues.
Naturalization Act
This Act extended the residency requirement for U.S. citizenship from 5 to 14 years for immigrants. The goal was to limit the political power of immigrants, who tended to support the Federalist’s opponents, the Democratic-Republicans. This Act was repealed in 1802 during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. The standard today remains five years.
Alien Act
The text of the Act stated: “…it shall be lawful for the President of the United States at any time during the continuance of this act, to order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States.”
There was no provision for a trial or other due process. The Act had a two-year limit and expired in 1800. No one was deported under this Act.
Alien Enemies Act
Language in this Act included: “…whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States…and the President of the United States shall make public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being males of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States, and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies.”
This Act is still in effect today. Under certain circumstances, the Act allowed for court hearings, but the President had broad latitude.
Sedition Act
This Act made it a crime to “print, utter or publish, or shall cause or procure to be written, printed, uttered or published… false, scandalous and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States.” The Act had a three-year limit and expired in 1801. The intent was to criminalize speech opposing the Federal Government. Adam’s administration prosecuted over twenty people under the Act – politicians and newspaper editors who opposed President Adams and the Federalist Party. President Jefferson pardoned those convicted under this Act.
Election of 1800
Opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts significantly influenced John Adams’s loss to Jefferson in the 1800 election. Voters considered the laws authoritarian, threatening individual liberties, including free speech.
President Wilson
The United States entered World War I in 1917. Shortly after, Democratic President Wilson signed two acts similar to the expired 1798 laws – the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. These acts suppressed anti-war speech by pacifists and others. These acts included bans on “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the U.S. government.
Wilson’s administration prosecuted several prominent citizens under these laws, including Eugene Debs, leader of the Socialist Party, who opposed the draft and U.S. entry into the war. The government sentenced him to 10 years in jail. While in jail, he ran for President in 1920, receiving over 3% of the popular vote (over 900,000 votes). President Harding commuted his sentence in 1921. Harding’s republican administration repealed the Sedition Act of 1918 in 1921.
Wilson’s administration interned over 10,000 German-Americans.
Activists founded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1920 in response to the suppression of civil liberties by these laws.
President Roosevelt (FDR):
FDR invoked the Act after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, saying he had the authority to manage the disposition of “natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the Empire of Japan being of the age of fourteen years and upwards…” Among other provisions, he banned them from possessing “Firearms; weapons or implements of war or component parts thereof…”
This invocation eventually led to the internment of over 100,000 Japanese, including citizens, starting with FDR’s February 1942 executive order.
President Trump
In March 2025, the President invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, stating that Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members have “unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States… all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of Venezuela, being males of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who are members of TdA,..and not naturalized or lawful permanent residents, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed, as alien enemies.”
The administration deported 137 Venezuelans under this Act in March.
Opponents of President Trump’s actions state that, compared to Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt, the current administration is invoking this Act when the country is not officially at war.
Current Legal Status
Some courts have banned the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport gang members, while the Supreme Court has allowed limited use while allowing those targeted to have an opportunity to dispute the findings. The administration has appealed several of these rulings.
The legal situation remains fluid as of this writing.