The Alien Enemies Act: A Closer Look

By Micah Hetherington, FoM Graduate Research Fellow

The Alien Enemies Act has been sparingly used since its creation in 1798; its most recent use was against people of Japanese, Italian, and German descent during World War II, branding them as “alien enemies.” During a time of war, the act gives the president power to detain and deport people classified as enemies without trial. 

Kiyonosuke Akutsu’s internee identification card. Courtesy of National Archives, NAID 1089890.

This is where clarity between internment and incarceration is necessary, as “alien enemies” who were not citizens faced internment in Department of Justice (DOJ) camps, whereas the U.S. incarcerated predominantly Japanese Americans in concentration camps like Minidoka. Issei, the first generation of Japanese immigrants to America, could not become citizens even if they lived in the U.S. for decades before the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. So, while the use of the Alien Enemies Act during World War II paved the way for Japanese American incarceration, they were officially forced from their homes under Executive Order 9066. 

The U.S. separated adult men of Japanese ancestry from their families after Pearl Harbor, most of whom spent years in DOJ camps before seeing their loved ones again. As we have seen in the history of Minidoka and Japanese American incarceration, just because there are laws accessible to the federal government does not mean they are just, fair, or respectful of people no matter their national origin, race, or citizenship status.

Read more about the Enemy Aliens Act in this recent New York Times article, and view internee identification cards at the National Archives’ website. These cards document internee custody locations, deportation status, and communication from family members. In the case of Kiyonosuke Akutsu (Jim and Gene Akutsu’s father), the Department of Justice moved him to three different camps before he was allowed to reunite with his family at Minidoka.