1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS22130April 28, 2005Detention of U.S. CitizensLouis FisherSenior Specialist in Separation of PowersGovernment and Finance DivisionSummaryIn 1971, Congress passed legislation to repeal
2、 the Emergency Detention Act of1950 and to enact the following language: “No citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwisedetained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress.” The newlanguage, codified at 18 U.S.C. 4001(a), is called the Non-Detention Act. Thisstatutory provision received
3、 attention after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when theAdministration designated certain U.S. citizens as “enemy combatants” and claimed theright to detain them indefinitely without charging them, bringing them to trial, or givingthem access to counsel. In litigation over Yaser Esam Hamdi and Jose Padi
4、lla, bothdesignated enemy combatants, the Administration has argued that the Non-DetentionAct restricts only imprisonments and detentions by the Attorney General, not by thePresident or military authorities. For more detailed analysis, see CRS Report RL31724,Detention of American Citizens as Enemy C
