The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is a wartime authority that allows the president to detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy nation. The law permits the president to target these immigrants without a hearing and based only on their country of birth or citizenship. Although the law was enacted to prevent foreign espionage and sabotage in wartime, it can be — and has been — wielded against immigrants who have done nothing wrong, have evinced no signs of disloyalty, and are lawfully present in the United States. It is an overbroad authority that may violate constitutional rights in wartime and is subject to abuse in peacetime.

The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 are among the most reviled laws in our national history. They criminalized dissent, abused civil liberties, and violated the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson decried the statutes as coming from a “reign of witches.” One of these laws is still on the books, the Alien Enemies Act.

It has been used only three times: during the War of 1812, during World War I, and infamously, to imprison tens of thousands of noncitizens of Japanese, German, and Italian descent in internment camps during World War II.

Now this wartime law has been invoked in peacetime to deport Venezuelan immigrants to prison in El Salvador. The Trump administration alleges, without real evidence or independent review, that these men are members of the dangerous drug trafficking gang Tren de Aragua. That gang deserves strong punishment, and criminal and immigration laws give the government ample power to detain, arrest, and deport its members.

By contrast, the Alien Enemies Act offers no due process, with no need to prove charges in a court of law. Just the say-so of an all-powerful government is enough. Allowing a president to detain and deport people without a fair hearing based solely on where they were born is too much power for one person.