On the recordOctober 21, 2020
I rise today to introduce the Neighbors Not Enemies Act. This long overdue legislation would repeal the Alien Enemies Act, one of four laws from 1798 that were collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These controversial laws were enacted during a period of threatened war and were an attempt to severely limit freedom of speech and press and the rights of noncitizen residents. Of the four laws, only the Alien Enemies Act remains in effect. The Alien Enemies Act allows the President of the United States to ``apprehend[ ], restrain[ ], secure[ ] and remove[ ],'' noncitizens without due process during times of war. In 1941, President Roosevelt used the authority of the Alien Enemies Act to apprehend ``alien enemies deemed dangerous to the public health or safety of the United States by the Attorney General or Secretary of War.'' These actions allowed for the detention of Japanese, Italian, and Germans as well as confiscation of their property. Then in 1942, Roosevelt expanded on his actions by issuing Executive Order 9066, which authorized the mass removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, both U.S. citizens and noncitizens, during World War II. The internment of Japanese Americans was a shameful act, and it was not until 1988 that the Civil Liberties Act was passed, formally apologizing to Americans of Japanese ancestry and providing reparations of $20,000 to each surviving victim who was incarcerated during World War II.…
