The US Supreme Court on Saturday called a halt to the administration’s deportation of Venezuelans from Texas under an obscure law dating back to 1798.
The ruling came as some of the migrants had reportedly already been loaded onto buses headed for the airport.
US President Donald Trump last month invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to justify rounding up and deporting Venezuelan migrants he has accused of
What did the court say?
“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 judges said in a brief, unsigned decision.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly dissented from the decision.
The ruling came after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed urgent requests on Friday in several courts, including the Supreme Court, urging immediate action.
The Supreme Court has already said this month that anyone facing deportation under the AEA must first be given the chance to legally challenge their removal.
The present ruling by the Supreme Court will now allow the men to do this.
In its emergency filing on Friday night, the ACLU said the Venezuelans held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center, located north of the city of Abilene, had been told “they will be imminently removed under the AEA, as soon as tonight.”
Possible constitutional crisis
In March, the Trump administration already proceeded with initial deportations of alleged Tren de Aragua members under the AEA,
That block was lifted by the Supreme Court on April 7, but in the same decision it said people facing deportation are entitled to due process, meaning that those issued with deportation notices must have enough time to file a challenge.
Trump and his senior aides say their executive power putting them into likely conflict with the constitutional principle of a balance of power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Potentially, a full-blown constitutional crisis could ensue if the administration continues to ride roughshod over court orders as it has in the past.
Asked about the planned deportations from Texas on Friday, Trump said he was unfamiliar with the particular case but added: “If they’re bad people, I would certainly authorize it.”
“That’s why I was elected. A judge wasn’t elected,” he told reporters at the White House.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
The post US Supreme Court pauses Trump deportation of Venezuelans appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
