One of the main reasons for Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election was his promise to expel illegal immigrants. CNN’s exit poll shows that 87% of Trump supporters believed illegal immigrants should be deported.
At a Nov. 4 rally before the election, Trump promised that he would implement the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel all illegal immigrants living on American soil. Not once, but Trump had promised to implement this law several times.
Trump claims that this law will give tremendous powers to his officials. This law will help expel all suspected immigrants and drug traffickers established in the United States.
It is believed that when Trump is sworn in as president on January 20 next year, he will begin working to deport most illegal immigrants. Trump has also started preparations for it. Trump has appointed Tom Homan to implement his deportation plan. This is also called “mass deportation.”
So when can Trump implement the law?
The law that Trump promises to implement was introduced in 1798. John Adams was then president of the United States.
This law can be implemented in two circumstances. First: when a war breaks out between the United States and any country. And second, when any country attacks or infiltrates the United States or threatens to do so.
In other words, if the United States is at war with any country or any foreign country has attacked or threatened the United States, then the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 can be implemented.
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But why this law?
There are other laws for illegal immigration or deporting illegal immigrants, but why does Trump want to implement this law? Trump himself gave this answer at a rally. He had said that this is the way to fix our country, because this law grants tremendous rights.
One of the reasons for implementing this law is that, according to it, the person who will be declared an “enemy alien” or who will be deported cannot challenge it in court.
Experts believe that Trump does not want his deportation plan to get bogged down in legal problems. Because if the deportation case goes to court, it remains stagnant for years.
However, it does not mean that foreigners who are deported under this law do not have the right to appeal. These people can appeal to the courts, but the process is quite complicated. According to CNN, in such cases the courts entrust their decision to the president.
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Who will this affect?
About those people who are not American citizens and live in the United States without documents or illegally. According to this law, all such people will be declared “enemy aliens.” In such circumstances, these people may be detained and deported.
Initially this law applied only to foreign men. But it was modified in 1918, after which it also applied to foreign women. All foreign citizens aged 14 or older are under the scope of this law.
How many illegal immigrants are there in the United States?
There are more than 10 million illegal immigrants in the United States. This information was revealed in the Pew Research survey. The number of illegal immigrants in the United States increases year after year.
According to Pew Research, in the 1990s the number of illegal immigrants in the United States was around 35 lakhs. But by the end of 2022, their number had increased to more than 1.10 crore.
Between 2019 and 2022, the number of illegal immigrants increased in six states: Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Texas. Only in California have their numbers decreased. Not only this, by 2022 around 83 lakh workers in the United States were illegal immigrants. In 2019, the number of illegal immigrants working was 73 lakh.
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What will be the impact on the Indians?
There are thousands of Indians in the United States living there illegally. According to data published by the US government, between October 2022 and September 2023, 96,917 Indians were caught entering America without documents. Some of them were detained, others were returned and others were not allowed to enter.
After the border was reopened post-Covid, the number of Indians arriving in the United States without valid documents has increased manifold.
Recently, the Department of Homeland Security said that from June 2024 to October, more than 1.60 lakh foreign nationals have been sent back to their country. Among those deported were also a large number of Indians.
When was this law implemented?
This law has been implemented three times in United States history. Each time it has been applied only in war situations. It was first implemented in 1812, the second during World War I, and the third during World War II. During World War II, millions of foreign citizens were detained.
