In 1798, the Federalist Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which included four laws: the Naturalization Act, which extended the residency requirement for citizenship; the Alien Act, allowing the president to deport non-citizens deemed dangerous; the Alien Enemies Act, permitting the detention of enemy aliens in wartime; and the Sedition Act, which criminalized making false statements against the government. These laws aimed to strengthen national security amid fears of foreign influence and domestic dissent but were widely criticized for infringing on civil liberties.
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