Virgil Wiebe, professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School, spoke to WCCO-TV about the Trump administration’s plan to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Wiebe said that the plan “sidesteps” immigration laws.
From the story:
President Trump is planning to invoke a law known as the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as soon as Friday to authorize the summary deportation of some migrants, multiple U.S. officials familiar with the plan told CBS News, and a Minnesota college professor says it could have sweeping impacts.
Wiebe worries that a successful use of the law could allow for deportations of all non-citizens from the designated enemy country, including people with green cards or student visas.
“The really scary thing about the invocation of this is that we’re talking about an effort to sidestep immigration laws passed by Congress,” Wiebe said.
The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked three times, most recently during World War II when it was used to put Japanese Americans in internment camps. President Ronald Reagan formally apologized for the injustice in 1988.
