Trump invokes 1798 law for deportations from US: Supreme Court gives green light

The US Supreme Court granted an emergency request from President Donald Trump and overturned a lower court ruling that had paused deportations under the Alien Enemies Act while legal proceedings were ongoing.

In a 5-4 decision, the majority of justices acknowledged that detainees should be informed of the grounds for their removal and given an opportunity to present their case before a judge prior to deportation.

In an unsigned opinion, the US Supreme Court downplayed the scope of its ruling, stating that it merely requires detainees to challenge their deportation through a habeas corpus petition — a legal mechanism for safeguarding individual liberty — filed in the jurisdiction where they are held. This means that the five men who brought the lawsuit must pursue their claims in Texas, rather than in Washington, D.C., where the case was originally filed.

The majority did not address arguments that, on March 15, dozens of individuals were deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador without a chance to prove they were not affiliated with gangs. Instead, the Court noted that the rights of detainees against forced removal without due process are not currently at issue, citing the Justice Department’s latest position.

In a recent court filing, the Department of Justice stated that suspected gang members subject to removal under the Alien Enemies Act are entitled to judicial review.

Criticism and judges' verdicts

Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a scathing dissent, sharply criticizing the majority’s decision and the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act.

She called the ruling as baffling as it is dangerous, adding that on March 15, the government conducted a secret operation to deport dozens of immigrants without notice or the opportunity for hearings.

In a separate dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the president invoked a centuries-old wartime statute to send people to a notoriously brutal prison under foreign control. For those who value freedom, this should be deeply troubling.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal justices in dissent, although she did not endorse all of their reasoning.

The majority was comprised of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh.

Trump's maneuver

Donald Trump has made an unprecedented use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act — a statute previously invoked only during the War of 1812 and the two World Wars — allowing the president to bypass federal immigration law to deport enemy aliens in times of war or when facing threats of invasion or predatory incursion by a foreign power.

The US Supreme Court, while not ruling on the legality of the administration’s interpretation of the statute, effectively cleared the way for the government to continue using it.

On March 15, the Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act to deport more than 130 suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang to a prison in El Salvador, despite an oral order from US District Judge James Boasberg to halt the deportation of two flights carrying Venezuelan nationals mid-air. The judge is now reviewing whether the government violated his directive.

On March 18, an official with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the administration had identified another 258 gang members who may be subject to removal. Most of them were not in custody at the time of the announcement.

Essence of the lawsuit

Five Venezuelans have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asserting that they are not members of any gang. Their lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and the organization Democracy Forward criticized the government for relying on factors such as tattoos and Michael Jordan T-shirts as convincing signs of affiliation with the Tren de Aragua gang.

"Without court protection, targeted people will suffer extraordinary and irreparable harms — being sent out of the US to a notorious Salvadoran prison, where they will remain incommunicado, potentially for the rest of their lives, without having had any opportunity to contest their designation as gang members," the group stated in its filing to the Supreme Court.

The Venezuelans argue that Trump is abusing a law designed for use in wartime with a foreign state.

Meanwhile, the administration contends that Judge Boasberg overstepped his authority by blocking deportations nationwide. The government maintains that individuals seeking to avoid deportation should file individual habeas corpus petitions. They also noted that the five men who filed the lawsuit must pursue their case in Texas, where they are being held.

The US Department of Justice argued that Boasberg's order forces the US to shield individuals whom national security officials have identified as members of a foreign terrorist organization bent on causing severe harm to Americans.

Boasberg's suspension of deportations was set to last until April 12, and the judge was considering a request to extend it. He had preliminarily granted class-action status to the case, meaning his ruling applies to all individuals covered by Trump’s March 15 proclamation regarding members of Tren de Aragua.

On March 26, a federal appeals court upheld Boasberg's ruling by a 2-1 vote.

Deportation of undocumented migrants from the US

Immediately after Donald Trump took office as President of the US, military forces began mass deportations of illegal immigrants from the country. The first flight departed on January 24 to Guatemala from Biggs Army Base in Texas.

Following a new agreement between the US and Venezuela, deportation flights between the two countries resumed on March 23.

On April 4, a federal judge ordered the government to return a man who had been sent to a prison in El Salvador due to an administrative error.