{ "id": "RL31724", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31724", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 302788, "date": "2005-03-31", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:48:26.703029", "title": "Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants", "summary": "The Supreme Court in 2004 issued three decisions related to the detention of \u201cenemy\ncombatants,\u201d\nincluding two that deal with U.S. citizens in military custody on American soil. In Hamdi v.\nRumsfeld , a plurality held that a U.S. citizen allegedly captured during combat in Afghanistan\nand\nincarcerated at a Navy brig in South Carolina is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard by\na neutral decision-maker regarding the government\u2019s reasons for detaining him. The Court\nin\n Rumsfeld v. Padilla overturned a lower court\u2019s grant of habeas corpus to another\nU.S. citizen in\nmilitary custody in South Carolina on jurisdictional grounds. The decisions affirm the\nPresident\u2019s\npowers to detain \u201cenemy combatants,\u201dincluding those who are U.S. citizens, as part\nof the necessary\nforce authorized by Congress after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. However the Court\nappears to have limited the scope of individuals who may be treated as enemy combatants pursuant\nto that authority, and clarified that such detainees have some due process rights under the U.S.\nConstitution. This report, which will be updated as necessary, analyzes the authority to detain\nAmerican citizens who are suspected of being members, agents, or associates of Al Qaeda, the\nTaliban and possibly other terrorist organizations as \u201cenemy combatants.\u201d \n \n The Department of Justice argues that the recent decisions, coupled with two World War II era\ncases, Ex parte Quirin and In re Territo , support its contention that the President may\norder that\ncertain U.S. citizens as well as non-citizens be held as enemy combatants pursuant to the law of war\nand Article II of the Constitution. Critics, however, question whether the decisions permit the\ndetention of U.S. citizens captured away from any actual battlefield, in order to prevent terrorist acts\nor gather intelligence; and some argue that Congress has prohibited such detention of U.S. citizens\nwhen it enacted 18 U.S.C. Section 4001(a). \n \n This report provides background information regarding the cases of two U.S. citizens deemed\n\u201cenemy combatants,\u201d Yaser Esam Hamdi, who has been returned to Saudi Arabia,\nand Jose Padilla,\nwho remains in military custody while the government appeals a district court order to charge him\nwith a crime or release him. A brief introduction to the law of war pertinent to the detention of\ndifferent categories of individuals is offered, followed by brief analyses of the main legal precedents\ninvoked to support the President\u2019s actions, as well as Ex parte Milligan ,\nwhich some argue supports\nthe opposite conclusion. A discussion of U.S. practice during wartime to detain persons deemed\ndangerous to the national security follows, including legislative history that may help to shed light\non Congress\u2019 intent in authorizing the use of force to fight terrorism. Finally, the report\nbriefly\nanalyzes the proposed Detention of Enemy Combatants Act, H.R. 1076 , which would\nauthorize the President to detain U.S. citizens and residents who are determined to be\n\u201cenemy\ncombatants\u201d in certain circumstances. The report concludes that historically, even during\ndeclared\nwars, additional statutory authority has been seen as necessary to validate the detention of citizens\nnot members of any armed forces, casting in some doubt the argument that the power to detain\npersons arrested in a context other than actual hostilities is necessarily implied by an authorization\nto use force.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31724", "sha1": "9e57d9d690448c469758113d95624e26677f83c9", "filename": "files/20050331_RL31724_9e57d9d690448c469758113d95624e26677f83c9.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31724", "sha1": "de5fa1d4fd3dcde552339291391589c134b828eb", "filename": "files/20050331_RL31724_de5fa1d4fd3dcde552339291391589c134b828eb.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs6142/", "id": "RL31724 2005-02-24", "date": "2005-02-24", "retrieved": "2005-06-10T22:06:27", "title": "Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants", "summary": "This report provides background information regarding the cases of two U.S. citizens deemed \u201cenemy combatants,\u201d Yaser Esam Hamdi, who has been returned to Saudi Arabia, and Jose Padilla, who remains in military custody. A brief introduction to the law of war pertinent to the detention of different categories of individuals is offered, followed by brief analyses of the main legal precedents invoked to support the President\u2019s actions, as well as Ex parte Milligan, which some argue supports the opposite conclusion. The report concludes that historically, even during declared wars, additional statutory authority has been seen as necessary to validate the detention of citizens not members of any armed forces, casting in some doubt the argument that the power to detain persons arrested in a context other than actual hostilities is necessarily implied by an authorization to use force.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20050224_RL31724_5b68bdb2668a13e3c0c1c7122490344e51b1f7cb.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20050224_RL31724_5b68bdb2668a13e3c0c1c7122490344e51b1f7cb.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Civil liberties", "name": "Civil liberties" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Counterterrorism - National policy - U.S.", "name": "Counterterrorism - National policy - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Detention of persons", "name": "Detention of persons" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Defense policy", "name": "Defense policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Criminal justice", "name": "Criminal justice" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs5753/", "id": "RL31724 2004-03-15", "date": "2004-03-15", "retrieved": "2005-06-10T22:04:41", "title": "Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants", "summary": "This report provides background information regarding the cases of two U.S. citizens deemed \u201cenemy combatants,\u201d Yaser Esam Hamdi, who has been returned to Saudi Arabia, and Jose Padilla, who remains in military custody. The report addresses the constitutional and statutory sources that arguably provide authority for the detention of enemy combatants, as well as those that may prevent the exercise of that power with respect to U.S. citizens. The report concludes that historically, even during declared wars, additional statutory authority has been seen as necessary to validate the detention of citizens not members of any armed forces, casting in some doubt the argument that the power to detain is necessarily implied by an authorization to use force. Finally, the report briefly analyzes the Detention of Enemy Combatants Act, H.R. 1029, which would authorize the President to detain U.S. citizens and residents who are determined to be \u201cenemy combatants\u201d in certain circumstances.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20040315_RL31724_1d7358e81b65e5d8449ec9fd79c0b673a21bea2f.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20040315_RL31724_1d7358e81b65e5d8449ec9fd79c0b673a21bea2f.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Civil liberties", "name": "Civil liberties" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Counterterrorism - National policy - U.S.", "name": "Counterterrorism - National policy - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Detention of persons", "name": "Detention of persons" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Defense policy", "name": "Defense policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Criminal justice", "name": "Criminal justice" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs3919/", "id": "RL31724 2003-01-30", "date": "2003-01-30", "retrieved": "2005-06-10T22:02:57", "title": "Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants", "summary": "This report provides background information regarding the cases of two U.S. citizens deemed \u201cenemy combatants,\u201d Yaser Esam Hamdi, who has been returned to Saudi Arabia, and Jose Padilla, who remains in military custody. The report addresses the constitutional and statutory sources that arguably provide authority for the detention of enemy combatants, as well as those that may prevent the exercise of that power with respect to U.S. citizens. The report concludes that historically, even during declared wars, additional statutory authority has been seen as necessary to validate the detention of citizens not members of any armed forces, casting in some doubt the argument that the power to detain is necessarily implied by an authorization to use force. Finally, the report briefly analyzes the Detention of Enemy Combatants Act, H.R. 1029, which would authorize the President to detain U.S. citizens and residents who are determined to be \u201cenemy combatants\u201d in certain circumstances.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20030130_RL31724_4a26f0b7807002ffecee6bf494a6a727f51452a3.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20030130_RL31724_4a26f0b7807002ffecee6bf494a6a727f51452a3.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Civil liberties", "name": "Civil liberties" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Counterterrorism - National policy - U.S.", "name": "Counterterrorism - National policy - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Detention of persons", "name": "Detention of persons" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Defense policy", "name": "Defense policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Criminal justice", "name": "Criminal justice" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Constitutional Questions", "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "National Defense" ] }