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Supreme Court Blocks Trump's Deportations Using 1798 Law

Supreme Court Blocks Trump's Deportations Using 1798 Law

April 19, 2025

The Supreme Court has halted the Trump administration's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants, ruling that detainees must receive proper notice and opportunity to challenge their removal. This decision comes amid growing concerns over due process violations, wrongful detentions, and the administration's refusal to comply with previous court orders in deportation cases.

Court Blocks Deportations Under Rarely Used Law

Early Saturday, the Supreme Court issued an order blocking the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants being held in Texas under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The Court directed the government "not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this court," with Justices Thomas and Alito dissenting.

The administration had invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite deportations of immigrants it claims are members of the Tren de Aragua gang, effectively bypassing typical immigration procedures and due process protections. This marks only the fourth time in U.S. history that this law has been used, with the previous three instances occurring during congressionally declared wars: the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II.

Legal Challenges and Due Process Concerns

This is the second time Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act has reached the Supreme Court. In an April 7 ruling, the Court established that "The Fifth Amendment requires the Government to afford plaintiffs notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act... within reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs."

Despite this ruling, attorneys for the migrants allege that detainees have received last-minute deportation notices with insufficient time to challenge their removal, with some reportedly being prepared for immediate deportation.

Administration's Defiance of Court Orders

In a troubling development, the administration has admitted to mistakenly deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in violation of a previous withholding of removal order. However, it has refused to comply with court orders to facilitate his return.

This defiance led U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to find probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

Impact & Analysis

The administration's aggressive deportation approach is having widespread impacts on immigrant communities and potentially U.S. citizens. In one alarming case, Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen, was wrongfully detained in Florida under an immigration detainer despite presenting a valid U.S. birth certificate, raising serious concerns about racial profiling.

This has created confusion for local law enforcement agencies caught between federal immigration enforcement expectations and maintaining community trust. The Dallas Police Department, for example, has publicly clarified that they "have not been asked by either state or federal law enforcement to participate in any immigration enforcement efforts" and "will not stop or contact persons solely to determine immigration status."

The administration justifies these actions as necessary to address what they characterize as an immigration crisis created during the preceding Biden administration. Vice President JD Vance has argued that "To say the administration must observe 'due process' is to beg the question: what process is due is a function of our resources, the public interest, the status of the accused, the proposed punishment, and so many other factors."

Critics, however, view this approach as an unconstitutional expansion of executive power. Justice Sonia Sotomayor has warned in a separate ruling that "United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes… History is no stranger to such lawless regimes, but this Nation's system of laws is designed to prevent, not enable, their rise."

What's Next

The Supreme Court's temporary block will remain in place while lower courts continue to review the legality of the administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act. The administration must now determine whether to develop new procedures that comply with the Court's due process requirements or pursue alternative immigration enforcement strategies.