Trump Brings Back the Alien and Sedition Acts

Daniel Greenfield | Mar 14, 2025

By DEA – https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2020/03/26/nicolas-maduro-moros-and-14-current-and-former-venezuelan-officials, Public Domain

If you learned about the Alien and Sedition Acts in school, you probably took in the liberal position that they were an unconstitutional abuse of authority by an administration that was abusing its power.

The reality, as I discuss in my book, ‘Domestic Enemies: The Founding Fathers’ Fight Against The Left’, they were a response to persistent efforts by France to hijack American politics by using radical activists, fake news and riots, conspiracies involving members of Congress. French agents went on to create a network of ‘Democratic Societies’ to act as their agents which ultimately blended into the Democratic-Republican Party.

Subscribe to Israpundit Daily Digest for Free

In short, the Alien and Sedition Acts were directed against a very real threat still operating today.

There’s only so much left of the Alien and Sedition Acts, but a key part of it, An Act Respecting Alien Enemies, is still very much in play, and the Trump administration shortly intends to deploy it against foreign gangs.

That means it’s time for the media to start (or continue) bellowing about Japanese internment camps, threats to democracy, and all that sort of rubbish. But Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act in an interesting way.

The Adams administration was dealing with new radical arrivals who were not citizens but trying to undermine the country. That is traditionally the way the Act has been used against enemy nationals here during wartime.

Specifically, “that whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government, and the President of the United States shall make public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being males of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States, and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies.”

If Trump were using this to deport Chinese nationals, for example, during a conflict, that would be relatively straightforward. Removing Venezuelan gang members is a bit more complicated, but Venezuela is a narco-socialist state and its leadership were officially listed as a drug cartel smuggling drugs into America.

The FBI previously listed Maduro as a wanted criminal in the Cartel de los Soles which compromises the entire Venezuelan government. Actively engaging in operations to move drugs into the United States should count as an invasion or predatory incursion.

And this is where things get interesting.

The FBI is ramping up investigations of a cartel with reported ties to Venezuela’s hard-left regime — along with anyone deemed to have “dirty business” involving the South American country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, The Post has learned.

The bureau’s primary target is the so-called Cartel de Los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”), whose leadership allegedly includes members of the Venezuelan military. Businessmen, financiers, and other cartels will face the possibility of US justice, said a source familiar with bureau discussions.

The cartel is not currently labeled a foreign terrorist organization, but the State Department last month slapped eight Latin American-based crime rings operating in the US with that label, including Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua.

A second source stated the FBI’s goal is to cripple the “entire financial system and organization” of those groups.

It’s easy enough to see how this will play out in the courts.

March 15, 2025 | 1 Comment »

Leave a Reply

1 Comment / 1 Comment

  1. Then there’s the Smith Act which the Supreme Court defanged in 1957 leading to the insanity that followed.
    Imagine if the Supreme Court overturned the 1957 rulings.

    AI Overview

    +8
    The Alien Registration Act of 1940, also known as the Smith Act, required all non-citizen adults to register with the federal government and be fingerprinted, and set criminal penalties for advocating the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.
    Here’s a more detailed explanation:
    Purpose and Context:
    Enacted in 1940, the Alien Registration Act, or Smith Act, was a national security measure passed during a period of growing international conflict, aiming to strengthen U.S. security by tracking and monitoring non-citizens.
    Key Provisions:
    Registration and Fingerprinting: The act mandated that all non-citizen adults residing in the United States register with the government and be fingerprinted.
    Criminal Penalties: It established criminal penalties for advocating the violent overthrow of the U.S. government or organizing or belonging to any group that advocated such action.
    Registration Process: Registration was done at local post offices, and individuals were required to provide information about their foreign military service, how they entered the country, their occupation, and the clubs they belonged to.
    Historical Significance:
    Use Against Political Organizations: The act was used to prosecute individuals and organizations, particularly those on the left, who were perceived as advocating for the overthrow of the government.
    Supreme Court Decisions: A series of Supreme Court decisions in 1957 overturned convictions under the Smith Act, finding them unconstitutional.
    Continued Relevance: Despite these decisions, the statute remains on the books.
    Modern Implications:
    Historical Precedent: The Alien Registration Act serves as a historical precedent for government surveillance and monitoring of individuals deemed national security risks.
    Current Debates: The act has been cited in recent debates about the potential for government overreach and the impact on vulnerable communities.