United States: United States Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration may continue deporting Venezuelan migrants under an 18th-century wartime law, while also demonstrating their right to due process.
The court overturned a lower federal court’s temporary block on summary deportations carried out under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act — a law last invoked during World War II. The Trump administration has used the legislation to target alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, accusing them of “conducting irregular warfare” within the US.
Since taking office in January, Trump officials have expelled hundreds of individuals under the statute. However, deportation flights were halted by a federal judge on March 15. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court’s ruling now permits those deportations to resume, with the caveat that migrants must be given “reasonable time” to appear before a judge and contest their removal.
In a rare break from the conservative majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in dissent, expressing concern about the law’s implications for due process and judicial oversight.
Both the Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented five Venezuelan migrants in the case, framed the decision as a legal victory.
In a related decision, the justices also issued a temporary stay blocking a lower court order that had mandated the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported last month.
Abrego Garcia, a documented US resident married to an American citizen, had received deportation protection in 2019 due to threats from criminal gangs in El Salvador. However, he was deported on March 15, despite that protection.
The Supreme Court’s stay allows more time for review, temporarily pausing the order to return him. Government attorneys claim Garcia is affiliated with MS-13 — a gang the Trump administration labelled a “terrorist organisation” in January — though his legal team has firmly denied those allegations.
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