NEW YORK – In response to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that invokes the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, the New York Civil Liberties Union released the following statement from Executive Director Donna Lieberman:
“Donald Trump has just invoked a wartime act with a deeply shameful place in history to justify his lawless deportation agenda. To be clear, the only war to be found is the one Trump is waging on our rights, our freedoms, and vulnerable people.
“Modern presidents of both parties have apologized and atoned for this country’s past invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and in particular its part in the racist and cruel internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. But there is no shame Trump won’t embrace and no lesson Trump won’t unlearn.
“We are gratified the ACLU preemptively sued to stop the Administration and we will continue to fight Trump’s attempts to undermine our rights.”
