HR630-119

What This Bill Does

The Neighbors Not Enemies Act repeals sections 4067 through 4070 of the Revised Statutes, codified at 50 U.S.C. 21 through 24. Those provisions are commonly known as the Alien Enemies Act and provide authority during declared war or invasion-related circumstances to regulate, restrain, remove, or otherwise act against nationals of a hostile country. The bill is short and does not replace the repealed authority with a new process.

Who Benefits and How

Noncitizens from countries in conflict with the United States benefit because the executive branch would lose a special wartime statutory authority directed at enemy-country nationals. Immigrant communities and civil-liberties organizations benefit from repeal of a law associated with nationality-based detention, restraint, and removal powers. Courts and Congress benefit from clearer pressure to use other immigration or national-security statutes rather than the repealed Alien Enemies Act.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The President, Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security lose a specific emergency authority that could be used against nationals of hostile countries during war or invasion. National-security officials would need to rely on other statutes and individualized processes. Supporters of broad wartime executive powers may view the repeal as reducing flexibility.

Key Provisions

• Repeals sections 4067 through 4070 of the Revised Statutes of the United States.
• Repeals the provisions codified at 50 U.S.C. 21 through 24, commonly known as the Alien Enemies Act.
• Bars continued use of that wartime authority against nationals of hostile countries without creating a replacement process.