The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a federal judge’s order that once blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport suspected members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador.
In a 5–4 majority opinion, the Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a major victory against legal challenges regarding his mass-deportation agenda. The decision allows Trump to continue invoking the Alien Enemies Act to accelerate the removal of illegal immigrants believed to be in Tren de Aragua.
The nation’s highest court, however, noted that the administration should give immigrants it seeks to deport “reasonable time” to challenge their removal from the U.S. in court.
“The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs,” the ruling states. “The detainees subject to removal orders under the [Alien Enemies Act] are entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative, partially dissented from the unsigned majority opinion, while the three liberal members of the Court fully dissented.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, of Washington, D.C., issued the temporary restraining order against the White House’s use of the wartime Alien Enemies Act last month. The Obama-appointed judge extended the order until at least April 12. The Supreme Court’s order came one day before Boasberg was set to hold a hearing on a preliminary injunction extending past this week.
The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court late last month after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected its request to lift Boasberg’s stay pending litigation brought by Democracy Forward and the American Civil Liberties Union.
In his initial order, Boasberg demanded the immediate return of airplanes full of gang members who were already headed toward El Salvador. The White House effectively ignored his ruling, noting that the planes were already en route to Central America before the written order was issued.
The Alien Enemies Act has been used only three times in U.S. history, and all three instances came during officially declared wars: the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. Trump invoked the law to remove dangerous illegal aliens from the country, including Tren de Aragua members.
Tren de Aragua is one of eight Latin American gangs and cartels that the State Department designated as foreign terrorist organizations in February. The Trump administration has vowed to crack down on the criminal groups, which it views as enemies who invaded the U.S. under the Biden administration.