Custody Provisions of NDAA Do NOT Apply to U.S. Citizens or Lawful Resident Aliens

A controversy over provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was cleared up after a reading of the text of legislation applicable to the detainment of terror suspects. In bold below is the section of the law applicable. Citizens and Lawful Resident Aliens are specifically exempt from the NDAA as Congressman Steve Pearce said in a press release. Pearce voted for the bill. Martin Heinrich voted against the act citing the provisions below as his objection. Ben Ray Lujan voted against the act without giving a reason on his website. Some members of the media have mis-characterized the military custody language as being applicable to U.S. citizens.

SEC. 1032. REQUIREMENT FOR MILITARY CUSTODY.
(a) Custody Pending Disposition Under Law of War-
(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in paragraph (4), the Armed Forces of the United States shall hold a person described in paragraph (2) who is captured in the course of hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40) in military custody pending disposition under the law of war.
(2) COVERED PERSONS- The requirement in paragraph (1) shall apply to any person whose detention is authorized under section 1031 who is determined--

(A) to be a member of, or part of, al-Qaeda or an associated force that acts in coordination with or pursuant to the direction of al-Qaeda; and
(B) to have participated in the course of planning or carrying out an attack or attempted attack against the United States or its coalition partners.
(3) DISPOSITION UNDER LAW OF WAR- For purposes of this subsection, the disposition of a person under the law of war has the meaning given in section 1031(c), except that no transfer otherwise described in paragraph (4) of that section shall be made unless consistent with the requirements of section 1033.
(4) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY- The Secretary of Defense may, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, waive the requirement of paragraph (1) if the Secretary submits to Congress a certification in writing that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States.
(b) Applicability to United States Citizens and Lawful Resident Aliens-
(1) UNITED STATES CITIZENS- The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.

(2) LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS- The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to a lawful resident alien of the United States on the basis of conduct taking place within the United States, except to the extent permitted by the Constitution of the United States.

Custody Provisions of NDAA Do NOT Apply to U.S. Citizens or Lawful Resident Aliens