The Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration can use the Alien Enemies Act from 1798 to deport illegal gang members from the U.S. This decision came on a Monday and reverses a previous ruling by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who had temporarily stopped the administration from enforcing the law in a case involving five Venezuelan nationals.
This ruling is a notable win for the Trump administration, which argues that the presence of these gangs represents a foreign threat that justifies the use of this old law. The Supreme Court’s decision was close, with a 5-4 vote. All justices except for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who partially disagreed, sided with the majority. The court’s three liberal justices dissented as well.
The Supreme Court also noted that the case should not have been heard in the District of Columbia because the detainees are being held in Texas. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a separate opinion, emphasized that all justices agreed that each individual should have the chance for judicial review, but they disagreed on where that review should take place.
This ruling follows another recent decision where the Trump administration successfully challenged a lower court’s order regarding a Salvadoran national who had been mistakenly deported. The Supreme Court intervened to stay the lower court’s deadline for his return, citing jurisdictional issues.
The implications of these rulings are significant for immigration policy and the administration’s efforts to address gang violence linked to undocumented immigrants.