The Trump administration can use a wartime law to deport Venezuelan gang members, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed in a ruling Monday.
The ruling lifted a federal court’s orders that barred the Trump administration from sending alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador.
The Trump administration last month used the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 to apprehend and deport members of Tren de Aragua, which it has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The ruling lifted the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s orders that barred the administration from sending the gang members to a prison in El Salvador.
While the court lifted the two restraining orders, the 5-4 majority opinion held that detainees are still “entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.”
“The only question is which court will resolve that challenge,” the majority said, noting that since the detainees are in Texas, the challenges should take place there instead of the District of Columbia.
The dissenting judges – Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson – called the majority’s opinion “suspect.”
“The Court intervenes anyway, granting the Government extraordinary relief and vacating the District Court’s order on that basis alone,” the dissenting justices said. “It does so without mention of the grave harm Plaintiffs will face if they are erroneously removed to El Salvador or regard for the Government’s attempts to subvert the judicial process throughout this litigation.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the initial lawsuit, said it was “an important victory” even though the orders were lifted.
“The critical point of this ruling is that the Supreme Court said individuals must be given due process to challenge their removal under the Alien Enemies Act,” ACLU lead counsel Lee Gelernt said in a statement.
President Donald Trump also claimed a win on Truth Social.
“The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders, and protect our families and our Country, itself. A GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”
