JANM Condemns Invocation of Alien Enemies Act to Enforce Mass Deportations

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) condemns today's presidential proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to enforce mass deportations of Venezuelan immigrants. That law permits deporting people from countries with which the US is at war and that have invaded the US. In 1941, President Roosevelt used it to arrest and detain citizens of Japan, Germany, and Italy without due process in Department of Justice internment camps. In 1942 he expanded the scope of his wartime powers to issue Executive Order 9066, leading to the mass incarceration of over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry.

JANM is watching with interest a lawsuit filed by attorneys with the ACLU and Democracy Forward in federal court in Washington, D.C. A US District Court Judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deportations.

JANM reiterates its support for the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, which calls for the repeal of the Alien Enemies Act. The Act as written is discriminatory on its face. Its invocation during peacetime, in the absence of any incursion by the nation of Venezuela, violates the Act itself, which grants the President the power only “whenever there is a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government.” Law enforcement and the judicial system are the proper constitutional means by which to address crime, and those suspected of criminal activity must not be denied due process based on their country of origin.

“This proclamation is fueled by the same dangerous rhetoric that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Alien Land Laws, internment of Japanese, Germans, and Italians, and the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. JANM was founded on the promise that this would never happen to any other group. Yet, today’s events remind us that this promise is under threat, that we can no longer say with certainty that history will not repeat itself. But what we can do is remain steadfast in our mission, uphold the lessons of history, to amplify the voices of those who lived through it, and to ensure that their stories serve as a warning and a call to action,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM President and CEO.

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