enemy alien

American  

[en-uh-mee ey-lee-uhn, eyl-yuhn] / ˈɛn ə mi ˈeɪ li ən, ˈeɪl yən /

noun

1. a person residing in a country at war with the country of which they are a citizen.

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Etymology

Origin of enemy alien

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

German culture and the German language were virtually erased from American society almost overnight — sauerkraut was rebranded as “Liberty cabbage,” seriously — and as historian Matthew Stibbe writes, the “enemy alien hysteria” of the war years fed right into the Red Scare immediately afterward:

From Salon

Picasso — who had not previously sought citizenship — may have been motivated by fears of an imminent Spanish-German alliance, which would have classified him as an enemy alien.

From Washington Post

But at least he was given a hearing before an Enemy Alien Hearing Board by the Department of Justice under the Geneva Convention.

From Los Angeles Times

He was transferred from an Immigration and Naturalization Service facility in Montana to the center for enemy alien internees in Louisiana.

From Los Angeles Times

“You had to go before a tribunal, and they would make a determination if you were a dangerous enemy alien,” Blanchard said.

From Seattle Times