Supreme Court backs Trump on Venezuelan deportations under wartime law
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to invoke a rarely used 18th-century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of gang affiliations.
However, the Court ruled that migrants must first be granted a court hearing before they can be removed from the United States.
At the heart of the dispute is the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), a law dating back to 1798 that allows the government to detain or deport nationals of hostile nations during times of conflict. Former President Donald Trump invoked the law through a presidential proclamation, labeling the Tren de Aragua gang as an "invading force" and justifying deportations under national security grounds.
In its unsigned opinion, the conservative-majority Court stated that while the administration may proceed with removals under the AEA, individuals facing deportation must be given “notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.” The ruling requires those legal challenges to be filed in Texas, not in Washington, D.C., where the original case was filed.
The decision appears to block the immediate resumption of controversial deportation flights, which last month transported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a high-security prison in El Salvador. Those flights, which occurred without court hearings, were carried out shortly after Trump’s proclamation was issued.
The Court's opinion did not directly address those earlier deportations. However, the ruling underlines that such actions cannot proceed without due process going forward.
The decision follows a temporary order by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who had halted the deportations and ordered the government to return removed migrants. The Biden administration did not comply, citing “state secrets privilege” and withholding further information from the court. A hearing last week examined whether the administration had defied Boasberg’s order.
Trump celebrated the ruling on his Truth Social platform, calling it a “GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA” and asserting that it reaffirmed a president’s authority to protect the nation.
