The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gangsters being held in Texas.
In a brief order made in the early hours of Saturday, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove the Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center ‘until further order of this court.’
Two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented.
The high court acted in an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
The Supreme Court said earlier this month that deportations could proceed only if those about to be removed had a chance to argue their case in court and were given ‘a reasonable time’ to contest their pending removals.
The last-minute order came as the alleged thugs were recently moved to the detention center in Anson, around 200 miles north of the Mexico border, sparking panic from their lawyers.
Trump is trying to deport the alleged gangsters under the 18th century Alien Enemies Act which allows the president to deport enemies in times of war. It has only been used a few times in history and was last wielded against Japanese prisoners in WWII.
The Supreme Court’s early hours order is the latest setback for Trump who was cautioned by Chief Justice John Roberts in a highly unusual intervention last month.
In a major setback for the Trump administration, the Supreme Court blocked all deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798
Two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented against the majority
Roberts, a conservative, warned Trump against threatening judges with impeachment after the president launched public attacks against James Boasberg.
Judge Boasberg had ordered halts on deportation flights of Venezuelans bound for El Salvador.
The latest dispute centers on dozens of Venezuelans held in Texas.
Lawyers for the ACLU filed urgent requests on Friday in multiple courts, including the Supreme Court, urging immediate action after reporting that some of the men had already been loaded onto buses and were told they were to be deported.
The ACLU said the rapid developments were not affording the men the a realistic opportunity to contest their removal as the Supreme Court had required.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During a hearing on Friday, a government lawyer said he was unaware of plans by the Department of Homeland Security to deport the men on Friday but there could be deportations on Saturday.
‘I’ve spoken with DHS. They are not aware of any current plans for flights tomorrow but I have also been told to say they reserve the right to remove people tomorrow,’ Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign told a district court in a separate but related case.
Tren de Aragua gangsters taking over a an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, last year. The notorious case was highlighted by Trump throughout his successful presidential campaign
Elected last year on a promise to crack down on migrants, Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act in an attempt to swiftly deport accused members of Tren de Aragua, a criminal gang that his administration labels a terrorist group.
The president and his senior aides have asserted their executive power grants them wide authority on immigration matters, testing the balance of power between branches of government.
Trump scored one victory on Friday when an appeals court put on hold a threat by judge Boasberg of contempt charges.
Boasberg also denied an ACLU request to block Trump from deporting suspected members of Tren de Aragua, citing an April 7 Supreme Court ruling that allowed Trump to use the Alien Enemies Act, albeit with certain limits.
Boasberg said he was concerned the government would deport additional people as soon as Saturday but that, ‘At this point I just don’t think I have the power to do anything about it.’
While one hearing played out in Boasberg’s court, the ACLU worked on a separate track to halt the deportations of Venezuelans held in Texas.
ACLU lawyers filed with the Supreme Court after failing to get a rapid response from earlier filings on Friday before U.S. District Judge James Hendrix in Abilene, Texas, and the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to block any such deportations.
The ACLU said the men had been handed forms indicating they were classified as members of Tren de Aragua.
Inmates look on inside a jail during a media tour at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, in Tecoluca, El Salvador April 4
At issue is whether the Trump administration has fulfilled the Supreme Court’s standard for providing the detainees due process before sending them to another country – possibly to the notorious prison in El Salvador where others are jailed.
It was unclear on Friday how many people were potentially to be deported, and where they might be taken.
Their deportation would be the first since the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling that allowed removals under the 1798 Act while specifying that ‘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.’
Habeas corpus relief refers to the right of detainees to challenge the legality of their detention. It is considered a bedrock right under U.S. law.
The Supreme Court did not indicate how much notice should be provided. Lawyers around the country have asked that the migrants be given 30 days’ notice to allow them to contest their deportations. The Trump administration has not said publicly how much notice it intends to give the migrants.
The ACLU filed a photo of one of the notices with the court.
‘You have been determined to be an Alien Enemy subject to apprehension, restraint, and removal,’ read the notice. The recipient’s name was obscured, and it was noted that the migrant refused to sign it on April 18.
Asked about the planned deportations on Friday, Trump said he was unfamiliar with the particular case but added: ‘If they’re bad people, I would certainly authorize it.’
‘That’s why I was elected. A judge wasn’t elected,’ he told reporters at the White House.
Defense lawyers and Democrats in Congress have pressed the administration to demonstrate how it knows the Venezuelans are members of the gang, which is active in human trafficking and other crimes in South America but has a smaller U.S. presence.
‘We are not going to reveal the details of counter terrorism operations, but we are complying with the Supreme Court’s ruling,’ Assistant Secretary for U.S. Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Friday.
On March 15, the Trump administration deported more than 130 alleged Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador. Many of the migrants’ lawyers and family members say they were not gang members and had no chance to dispute the government’s assertion that they were.
