Supreme Court Rules Trump Administration Can Deport Venezuelan Migrants Under Wartime Law, but Grants Due Process Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the administration of former President Donald Trump can continue deporting Venezuelan migrants under an 18th-century wartime law but ordered that deportees must be granted “reasonable time” to appear before a judge.
In a 5-4 decision on Monday, the Supreme Court overturned a lower federal court’s order that temporarily blocked summary deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The Trump administration invoked the law, last used during World War II, to deport alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, claiming they are “conducting irregular warfare” in the U.S.
Since Trump took office in January, hundreds of people were deported to El Salvador until a federal judge halted deportation flights on March 15. While the Supreme Court ruled that the administration could use the wartime law for deportations, it emphasized that deportees retain the right to due process and are “entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.”
In a dissenting opinion, the court’s three liberal justices were joined by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who agreed with parts of their argument. Both Trump and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented five Venezuelans in the case, claimed the ruling as a victory.
In a separate ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court’s order requiring the Trump administration to return a Salvadoran man to the U.S. after he was erroneously deported. The lower court had ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, mistakenly deported to El Salvador on March 15, must be returned by midnight on Monday. The Supreme Court’s temporary stay allows its nine justices more time to consider the case.
Abrego Garcia, a documented U.S. resident married to an American citizen, was granted protection from deportation in a 2019 ruling, which stated he would face persecution from criminal gangs if sent back to El Salvador. U.S. government lawyers have alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the international gang MS-13, a claim his lawyers deny. The Trump administration designated MS-13 as a “terrorist organization” in January.
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