The Supreme Court halted, at least temporarily, the deportations of all Venezuelan migrants detained at the Bluebonnet center in Anson, North Texas, who were arrested under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law dating back to 1798.
With seven votes in favor and two against, the high court ordered the government to follow its directives “until further notice. ”The justices acted on an appeal filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which argued that immigration authorities appeared to want to restart deportations by serving the Alien Enemies Act. The Supreme Court had already advised in April that deportations could proceed only if those about to be removed were given an opportunity to argue their case in court and given “reasonable time” to challenge the pending deportation.
“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. The ACLU had already sued to stop the deportations of two Venezuelans detained at the Bluebonnet facility and had asked for an order preventing the removal of any immigrants there.
On Friday, the association explained that immigration authorities were accusing other detained Venezuelans of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang: this would make them victims of the law so dear to President Trump. The rule in question had last been used during World War II, to intern the Japanese in America.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration claimed that thanks to the Alien Enemies Act, it would be able to quickly deport migrants deemed dangerous gang members, regardless of their status. As the New York Times reported, more than 50 Venezuelans detained at Anson were at risk of having to leave the country, presumably to join their compatriots already deported from the U.S. to the notorious CECOT maximum security prison in El Salvador.
The situation in Anson was so urgent that ACLU attorneys filed appeals in three different courts within five hours on Friday. The lawyers asked Judge James Wesley Hendrix to issue an immediate order protecting all migrants in the Northern District of Texas. After the magistrate rejected their request, they decided to appeal to the Supreme Court. Drew C. Ensign, attorney for the Justice Department, said there were no flights scheduled to depart for El Salvador on Friday night or Saturday morning.
Back in mid-March, Federal Judge James Boasberg, ordered Trump officials to suspend all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. But despite this, three planes departed from Texas and landed in El Salvador, carrying more than 200 migrants. Boasberg is now considering opening a contempt investigation against the Trump administration.
