 "Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrive at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. AP")
The US Supreme Court on Saturday paused the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members, citing an 18th-century law. In a brief judgment, the top court ordered the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelan nationals held in Texas’s Bluebonnet Detention Centre “until further order of this court.”
The court was hearing an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union, arguing that deportations under the Trump 2.0 administration seem to be moving in the direction of removal under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
“The government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this court,” the court order said.
The ACLU had already sued to block deportations of two Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet facility and sought an order barring removals of any immigrants in the region under the Alien Enemies Act.
The Supreme Court had earlier noted that deportations are only possible if the ones who are supposed to be removed from the US have the chance to argue their case in court and were given “a reasonable time” to contest their pending removals.
“We are deeply relieved that the Court has temporarily blocked the removals. These individuals were in imminent danger of spending the rest of their lives in a brutal Salvadoran prison without ever having had any due process," ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said in an email to the Associated Press.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhat is the Alien Enemies Act?
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is a US federal law that grants the president the authority to detain or deport non-citizens from countries at war with the United States. Enacted during the presidency of John Adams, it was designed to protect national security during times of war or “predatory incursion” by foreign powers.
The act has only been invoked three previous times in US history, most recently during World War II to hold Japanese-American civilians in internment camps.
The Trump administration contended it gave them the power to swiftly remove immigrants they identified as members of the gang, regardless of their immigration status.
With inputs from agencies