WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Trump administration from quickly resuming deportations of Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law enacted when the nation was just a few years old.
WATCH: Examining Trump’s latest hardline immigration policies and legal battles around them The court indefinitely extended the prohibition on deportations from a north Texas detention facility under the alien enemies law.
“THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
The court had already called a temporary halt to the deportations, in a middle-of-the-night order issued last month.
The Supreme Court on Friday also made clear that it was not blocking other ways the government may deport people.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday prohibited the Trump administration from swiftly increasing the number of Venezuelans deported under a wartime law from the 18th century that was passed when the country was only a few years old.
The justices considered an emergency appeal from attorneys representing Venezuelan men accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration claims qualifies them for expedited removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, despite two dissenting votes.
Watch as we analyze Trump’s most recent strict immigration policies and the legal disputes surrounding them.
The court used the alien enemies law to extend the ban on deportations from a detention facility in north Texas indefinitely. Now, the matter will return to the 5th U. S. The Circuit Court of Appeals chose not to get involved in April.
President Donald Trump expressed his disapproval right away. On his Truth Social platform, he wrote, “The Supreme Court will not permit us to expel criminals from our nation.”.
The high court ruling is the most recent in a series of legal setbacks for the Trump administration’s attempt to expedite the deportation of individuals who are undocumented in the nation. The president and those who support him have grumbled about having to give due process to those who they claim did not follow the law. A. immigration regulations. .
The deportations had already been temporarily stopped by the court in an order issued last month in the middle of the night. The court observed on Friday that officials appeared “poised to carry out removals imminently.”.
A number of court cases pertaining to the previous deportation law are pending.
Trump’s March declaration that the Tren de Aragua gang was a foreign terrorist organization and that the 1798 law could be used to deport them is the subject of this case, one of several that are currently pending in the courts.
WATCH: An investigation by the NYT reveals no evidence connecting Tren de Aragua to numerous deported Venezuelans.
Without judging whether Trump’s use of the law was justified, the high court case focuses on the right of individuals to challenge their expulsion from the United States.
“We acknowledge the importance of the Government’s national security interests and the need to pursue them in a way that is consistent with the Constitution,” the justices stated in an unsigned opinion.
According to at least three federal judges, Trump was abusing the AEA to expedite the deportation of individuals the administration claims are members of a Venezuelan gang. The application of the law was approved by a Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday.
There is a patchwork legal process for this issue.
Another Supreme Court decision that removed a case from a judge in Washington, D.D.C., is the basis for the AEA’s court-by-court deportation procedure. and decided that detainees must contest their deportations in the location where they are being held.
The justices ruled in April that individuals must be given “reasonable time” to submit a challenge. While stating on Friday that 24 hours is insufficient time, the court did not specify the exact duration of its ruling. Twelve hours would be adequate, according to the administration. The U. S. Although she stated that deportations could lawfully occur under the AEA, District Judge Stephanie Haines ordered immigration officials to give people 21 days.
Additionally, the Supreme Court clarified on Friday that it was not preventing the government from deporting people in other ways.
Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas were the dissident justices. Alito expressed dissatisfaction over his colleagues’ apparent departure from custom and decision-making without consulting an appeals court. However, if it has, the order issued today is even more remarkable, Alito wrote.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred with the majority in a different opinion, but he would have preferred that the country’s highest court intervene immediately rather than sending the case back to an appeals court. “The circumstances necessitate a swift and definitive resolution,” Kavanaugh wrote. “”.
