Antiquated laws from the 1700s and 1800s give the president tremendous power to use the military at home to quash protests and order mass arrests in times of war and domestic upheaval. These laws are overbroad, ripe for abuse, and at odds with the Constitution’s separation of powers and civil liberties. It’s past time for Congress to repeal the Alien Enemies Act, close loopholes in the Posse Comitatus Act, and reform the Insurrection Act.

Alien Enemies Act (1798): The Alien Enemies Act is a wartime authority that allows the president to summarily detain or deport immigrants with ancestral or legal ties to an enemy nation. The law, which was last used for Japanese internment during World War II, raises serious equal protection and due process concerns — worries that are heightened by recent proposals to invoke the authority to enact mass deportations in peacetime.

Posse Comitatus Act (1878): The Posse Comitatus Act bars the federal armed forces from participating in civilian law enforcement without express authorization by Congress. The law is undermined, however, by multiple exceptions and loopholes.

Insurrection Act (1807): The Insurrection Act is the most significant exception to the Posse Comitatus Act. Though intended to address rebellions and other emergencies, it gives the president nearly limitless discretion to use the military as a domestic police force.