Supreme Court clears Trump to resume swift deportations – Washington Examiner
The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of the Trump administration, allowing President Donald Trump to resume deportations of Venezuelan gang members under the wartime Alien Enemies Act.In a narrow 5-4 decision, the court lifted a lower court’s injunction that had blocked the use of this past statute in peacetime. The ruling permits immigration officials to proceed with removals, provided that detainees are notified and can contest their deportation through habeas corpus, even though class actions in Washington, D.C., are not allowed. The legal challenge, initiated by the ACLU, argued that the utilization of the Alien Enemies Act overstepped presidential authority, as it has been historically limited to times of declared war. The decision has notable implications for immigration policy and the administrative powers of the presidency.
Supreme Court clears Trump to resume swift deportations under wartime law
The Supreme Court on Monday handed the Trump administration a significant legal victory, allowing President Donald Trump to resume deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law invoked for the first time in peacetime.
In a 5-4 decision, the justices lifted a lower court’s order that had blocked Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 statute historically reserved for wartime threats. Trump used the law in March to authorize the rapid deportation of members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang newly designated a terrorist organization by the State Department.
The ruling means immigration officials can move forward with removals so long as detainees are given notice and a chance to challenge their deportation through habeas petitions — just not through class actions filed in Washington, D.C.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion, emphasized that habeas corpus has long been the proper legal avenue for detainees facing transfer or removal, citing precedent from wartime and Guantánamo cases.
The legal challenge was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Venezuelan men who argued the president overstepped his powers. They noted that the Alien Enemies Act has previously been used only during declared wars, including World War II, to justify the internment of Japanese, German, and Italian nationals.
Judge James Boasberg had blocked the deportations last month, but the Trump administration allowed two planes to proceed to El Salvador, where 238 Venezuelans were handed over to be held in the country’s “Terrorism Confinement Center.”
DOJ ASKS SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN HOLD ON ALIEN ENEMIES ACT DEPORTATIONS
Boasberg is also examining whether the administration violated his oral order by failing to recall the planes midflight.
Trump has railed against Boasberg, calling for his impeachment and labeling him a “Radical Left Lunatic.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld Boasberg’s order last week, drawing sharp exchanges between the court and Justice Department attorneys.
The ruling comes shortly after Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday afternoon temporarily stayed a lower court’s order for the Trump administration to return a man from El Salvador to Maryland after he was deported last month, a move that marked another brief victory for Trump.
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