Trump Has Used Antiquated ‘Alien Enemies Act’ to Attack Immigrants in His Plans for Mass Deportation

“Our bill would protect the rights and due process of our immigrant neighbors, affirming just that – that they are our neighbors, not our enemies.”

Video (YouTube) | Photo (Dropbox)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) joined Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) at a press conference to reintroduce the Neighbors Not Enemies Act. The bill, co-led by Omar and Hirono, would repeal the antiquated Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has been used to target innocent immigrants based on nothing more than national origin without affording due process rights. Donald Trump has threated to use his law to attack immigrants in his plans for mass deportation.

A transcript of Rep. Pressley’s remarks at the press conference is available below and the full video is available here. For photos from the press conference, click here.

Transcript: Pressley Joins Omar, Colleagues to Re-Introduce Bill Repealing Outdated Law Targeting Immigrants
January 22, 2025
U.S. House of Representatives

Good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you, Congresswoman Omar and Senator Hirono for convening us today.

Thank you, Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, for your compassionate and effective leadership and partnership on so many issues of consequence.

And to my dear friend and mentor, Congresswoman Schakowsky.

Today, we take an important step toward protecting our immigrant neighbors by re-introducing the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, legislation to repeal the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—the last remaining relic of the deeply problematic Alien and Sedition Acts.

This law, rooted in xenophobia and fear, has no place in our nation’s statutes.

Yet, its shadow looms large, granting unchecked power to detain or deport foreign nationals simply because of where they come from.

This law was used during some of the darkest and most damning chapters in our nation’s history – including the internment of Japanese, Italian, and German-Americans during World War II.

The need to repeal it is as urgent today as it was then.

Donald Trump is wasting no time advancing the policy violence that he previewed in Project 2025.

Playing out what we knew all along, that Project 2025 is simply Trump’s agenda.

A series of executive actions have been rolled out which are all about what they plan to do to the people of this country, and not for them.

He is wasting no time.

He has pardoned violent insurrectionists, he has targeted our immigrant neighbors, attacked birthright citizenship, and so much more.

And, he has specifically threatened to weaponize the Alien Enemies Act in his plans for mass deportations, attacking immigrant communities under the guise of national security.

We cannot allow this dangerous vision to become reality.

My district, the Massachusetts 7^th, is a district that is dynamic and vibrant – also one of the most unequal in our country and was amongst the hardest hit by last Trump presidency.

With nearly one third of residents foreign-born, the fear and trauma caused felt in our communities is all too real.

I’ve met constituents who’ve developed harrowing and heartbreaking plans, telling their children what to do if they come home from school and they are not there because they’ve been deported or detained.

Elders who’ve been here for many years, carrying their medications around with them everywhere they go, terrified that they might be ripped away from their families and the only community they’ve known.

Third graders terrified they will come home to an empty house and never see their father again.

This pain, fear, and uncertainty is the shameful reality for so many in our district.

But let me be clear: We will never stop fighting to protect our immigrant neighbors, our workers, our families, and everyone who stands to be harmed by this new administration.

I’m pausing because I’m recalling when Representative Omar and I stood at this very podium in the face of personal attacks, which questioned our right to call this country home.

And yet here we are, again.

These are certainly unprecedented times, but we will meet them with unprecedented organizing, unprecedented mobilizing, unprecedented community, and, above all else, unprecedented hope and love.

While we continue legislating, sharing resources to protect our neighbors, governing cooperatively.

Dr. King reminds us that our most powerful weapon is organizing, and we will stay organized.

And we will remain vigilant.

We must pass the Neighbors Not Enemies Act.

Our bill would protect the rights and due process of our immigrant neighbors, affirming just that – that they are our neighbors, not our enemies.

We must pass this bill without delay.

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