In a dramatic late-night intervention, the US Supreme Court has put a halt to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary use of a little-known law to deport Venezuelan migrants without following due process.
This emergency ruling, conveyed in two succinct paragraphs, highlighted that two of the most conservative justices among the nine had expressed dissent.
The order temporarily bars the government from expelling migrants under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act—last employed to round up Japanese-American citizens during World War II.
Last month, Mr. Trump invoked this law to deport Venezuelans to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
The court stated, “the government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order.”
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Mr. Trump defends the summary expulsions—and the detention of individuals in El Salvador—by claiming he is taking action against violent Venezuelan criminal gangs, which the US government now designates as terrorists.
However, this policy has intensified concerns among the opposition that the Republican is disregarding the US Constitution in a broader quest for power.
The controversy surrounding the Alien Enemies Act arises amidst aggressive initiatives by the administration targeting major law firms, universities such as Harvard, and significant independent media organizations.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has been at the forefront of efforts to halt the deportations planned for last Friday, expressed appreciation for the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“These men were in imminent danger of spending their lives in a horrifying foreign prison without ever having the opportunity to go to court. We are relieved that the Supreme Court has not allowed the administration to whisk them away as they did with others last month,” said lead attorney Lee Gelernt.
Tattoos and due process
Mr. Trump’s election last November was significantly influenced by his forceful promises to tackle what he has characterized as an “invasion” of violent migrants.
Despite the lack of evidence for the narrative that the United States is facing an “invasion,” Mr. Trump’s rhetoric about rapists and murderers threatening suburban homes resonated with many voters who have long harbored concerns about high levels of illegal immigration.
Mr. Trump has deployed troops to the Mexican border, imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for allegedly failing to curb illegal crossings, and classified narco-gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as terrorist organizations.
Yet, Democrats and civil rights advocates have raised alarms about the erosion of constitutional rights.
Through Mr. Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act—previously invoked only during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II—migrants have been labeled as gang members and sent to El Salvador without a chance to appear before a judge or face formal charges.
Lawyers representing several of the deported Venezuelans indicated that their clients were primarily targeted based on their tattoos.
In a highly publicized case, Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported last month to the notorious mega-prison in El Salvador without being charged.
The Trump administration claimed he was included in a larger group of deportees due to an “administrative error,” and a court ruled that it must facilitate his return.
Nevertheless, Mr. Trump has reiterated his stance, asserting that Mr. Abrego Garcia is indeed a gang member, including posting an allegedly altered photograph on social media that showed MS-13 tattoos on his knuckles.
Most of the deported migrants are currently detained in El Salvador’s maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center, a sprawling prison located southeast of the capital, San Salvador, with a capacity to hold 40,000 inmates.
Inmates are crammed into windowless cells, forced to sleep on metal beds without mattresses, and are denied visitors.
