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U.S. Citizenship and Enemy Combatant Status

• The Quirin decision denied a writ of habeas corpus for defendants, upholding their trial by military commission and stating that U.S. citizenship did not exempt Herbert Hans Haupt from consequences as an enemy combatant.
• Approximately 60 years later, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the holding that the nation could hold its own citizens as enemy combatants, citing the Quirin decision.
• The detainment of U.S. citizens seized on U.S. soil has been upheld by the courts.
• Treaty obligations and international law may prevent the U.S. government from declaring mere political opponents of the President as unprivileged enemy belligerents.
• Declaring mass murderers like Timothy McVeigh and Dylan Root as militarily detainable unprivileged enemy belligerents raises legal and constitutional complexities.
• The President's and Congress's policy and law on detention, as well as judicial efforts to define the scope of a President's detention authority, are addressed in the subsequent sections.
• Bush's military order of November 13, 2001 covered members of al-Qaeda and individuals engaged in international terrorism, detaining those with a "reason to believe" they fit the undefined terms, including U.S. citizens.
• The Department of Defense's view of the military's authority to detain is different and broader, relying on the President's Article II authority and defining "engaging in hostilities" with two prongs.
• The first prong involves personal actions intended to harm the U.S., while the second prong includes being part of a non-state armed group engaged in hostilities.
• The DOD claims authority to detain individuals who engage in hostilities but are not entitled to the distinct privileges of combatant status.
• The claimed authority rests on the President's Article II authority and includes individuals engaged in hostilities against the U.S.
• The distinction between lawful and unlawful belligerents is complex and involves issues of international law.

U.S. Citizenship and Enemy Combatant Status

• The Quirin decision denied a writ of habeas corpus for defendants, upholding their trial by military commission and stating that U.S. citizenship did not exempt Herbert Hans Haupt from consequences as an enemy combatant.
• Approximately 60 years later, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the holding that the nation could hold its own citizens as enemy combatants, citing the Quirin decision.
• The detainment of U.S. citizens seized on U.S. soil has been upheld by the courts.
• Treaty obligations and international law may prevent the U.S. government from declaring mere political opponents of the President as unprivileged enemy belligerents.
• Declaring mass murderers like Timothy McVeigh and Dylan Root as militarily detainable unprivileged enemy belligerents raises legal and constitutional complexities.
• The President's and Congress's policy and law on detention, as well as judicial efforts to define the scope of a President's detention authority, are addressed in the subsequent sections.
• Bush's military order of November 13, 2001 covered members of al-Qaeda and individuals engaged in international terrorism, detaining those with a "reason to believe" they fit the undefined terms, including U.S. citizens.
• The Department of Defense's view of the military's authority to detain is different and broader, relying on the President's Article II authority and defining "engaging in hostilities" with two prongs.
• The first prong involves personal actions intended to harm the U.S., while the second prong includes being part of a non-state armed group engaged in hostilities.
• The DOD claims authority to detain individuals who engage in hostilities but are not entitled to the distinct privileges of combatant status.
• The claimed authority rests on the President's Article II authority and includes individuals engaged in hostilities against the U.S.
• The distinction between lawful and unlawful belligerents is complex and involves issues of international law.

Test your knowledge on U.S. citizenship and enemy combatant status with this quiz. Explore legal cases, Supreme Court decisions, and government policies related to the detainment of U.S. citizens as enemy combatants. Delve into the complexities of international law and the President's detention authority.