Neighbors Not Enemies Act

Senate Bill

S. 193

119th Congress

Neighbors Not Enemies Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 22, 2025

Primary Sponsor

John Thune

Senator

Republican

SD

Cosponsors

9

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Immigration

Summary

This bill repeals the Alien Enemies Act provisions that allow the President to apprehend and remove citizens of nations with which the U.S. is at war or that threaten invasion. It eliminates wartime detention authority for foreign nationals.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill repeals the Alien Enemies Act provisions that allow the President to apprehend and remove citizens of nations with which the U.S. is at war or that threaten invasion. It eliminates wartime detention authority for foreign nationals.

Last updated: 1/5/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Neighbors Not Enemies Act This bill repeals provisions authorizing the President to apprehend and remove from the United States the citizens of a particular nation, if the United States has declared war against that nation or that nation has threatened an invasion against the United States.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Repeals Alien Enemies Act provisions
Removes wartime detention authority
Eliminates invasion threat removal power
Affects foreign nationals during conflicts
Prevents mass detention by nationality

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

Foreign nationals in the U.S. during wartime would have more protections. Executive detention powers would be limited. The law that enabled Japanese internment would be further restricted.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Immigration

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

193, 119th Congress (2025). "Neighbors Not Enemies Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-193