The U.S. Supreme Court has instructed the Trump administration to temporarily suspend the deportation of certain alleged Venezuelan gang members detained in northern Texas. The court issued the order on Saturday (April 19), stating that no member of the proposed detainee group may be removed from the United States until further orders from the court. This news was reported by the British news outlet BBC.
However, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from this order.
President Donald Trump accused members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua of “assault, attempted attacks, and threats” within the United States. He invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against them. This law gives the U.S. President the authority to detain or deport citizens of an “enemy” country without trial during times of war.
However, civil rights organizations have filed a lawsuit opposing the deportation plan, arguing that using this 18th-century wartime law against the Venezuelans is unjust. A lower court had already temporarily halted the deportations on March 15.
Later, on April 8, the Supreme Court ruled that while Trump may use the Alien Enemies Act to deport the accused gang members, they must be given the opportunity to legally challenge their deportation in court before removal.
As of April 8, a total of 261 Venezuelans had been sent to a detention facility in El Salvador. A senior official in the Trump administration told CBS News that 137 of them were deported under the Alien Enemies Act.