Alien enemies act: US Supreme court's midnight order halts deportations under 18th century law, all you need to know

Supreme Court's Midnight Order Halts Deportations Under 18th-Century Law

Less than two weeks after the US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to invoke the controversial 18th-century Alien Enemies Act, events took a dramatic turn. In a rare overnight order, the Supreme Court blocked the deportation of a group of immigrants in Texas, halting the administration’s move just hours before it was set to proceed.

In a brief order, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.

• Things began unfolding on March 14 when President Donald Trump quietly signed an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act. The move, not made public right away, claimed to target the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the administration described as a threat of invasion.
• On March 15, alarmed by reports that the Trump administration was preparing to deport Venezuelan detainees without court hearings, the ACLU rushed to file a lawsuit in a Washington federal court. On the same the executive order was made public and during an emergency hearing, Judge James E. Boasberg ordered to halt the deportations.
• But the order was violated and next day El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele posted a video showing men arriving in handcuffs at a prison, apparently deported from the US, alongside a cheeky caption: “Oopsie… Too late.”
• The Trump administration denied defying the court, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt asserting that federal courts have no jurisdiction over the president’s conduct in foreign affairs.
• A New York Times review of flight data revealed a key detail in the unfolding drama. On March 15, three planes carrying over 200 migrants headed to El Salvador. Two were already in the air when the judge issued his order. The third plane did not take off until after the court’s ruling had been posted online, raising serious questions about whether the administration ignored the legal block.
• On April 7, the court changed its stance and allowed the Trump administration to continue deporting Venezuelan migrants for the time being. However, it placed important conditions. Migrants must be informed in advance and given the opportunity to request a hearing before deportation.
• The ACLU filed a motion claiming that Venezuelan detainees at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas received deportation notices in English but were not informed how to contest them. Despite an emergency hearing and the ACLU’s petition to the Supreme Court, lower courts denied intervention.
• Then, in a rare move, at 12:55 am on April 19, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned order blocking the deportation of these migrants "until further order." Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. The detainees were sent back to Bluebonnet, with the court's swift, late-night action catching many by surprise.

In a rare late-night move, the US Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan detainees held in Texas under the controversial 18th-century Alien Enemies Act. The court also directed the Department of Justice to respond quickly to an emergency petition filed by the ACLU, which argued that the deportations were proceeding without due process.

By Saturday evening, Solicitor General D. John Sauer responded, stating the government had agreed not to deport any detainees who filed habeas corpus claims. He urged the court to lift the block and allow lower courts to address the issue first.

The ACLU raised alarms that Venezuelan migrants were being accused of gang ties and rushed onto buses without legal hearings, potentially facing dangerous conditions if deported to El Salvador. Despite the urgency, two federal judges and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to step in, even though one judge acknowledged the legal concerns were legitimate.

Earlier in April, the Supreme Court had ruled that deportations under the Alien Enemies Act could only proceed if detainees were given notice and a fair chance to argue their case in court. The ACLU welcomed the latest temporary order, with lawyer Lee Gelernt saying the individuals faced the risk of life in brutal prisons without ever being granted due process.

The Trump administration invoked a law passed in 1798, during a time when the US anticipated war with France. Congress had enacted a series of laws at that time to expand the federal government's powers.

The law allows the president to target immigrants based solely on their country of origin or citizenship, without a hearing. Originally designed to prevent espionage and sabotage during wartime, it has been used against immigrants who have committed no wrongdoing, shown no signs of disloyalty, and are lawfully residing in the U.S.

Since the law has been used just three times: during the War of 1812 and the two world wars.

The law was also used during World War II to justify the mass internment of individuals in the US with German, Italian, and particularly Japanese ancestry. Approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens, were forcibly detained.

The law is meant to be used when the US is at war with another country, or if a foreign nation attacks or threatens to attack the US.

To use the Act, the president must officially declare the event that triggered its use. The law stays active until the president ends it.

The president can use the Alien Enemies Act during a declared war or when a foreign threat, like an 'invasion', is imminent. While Congress must declare war, the president can act without approval if there’s a threat of attack, deciding when action is needed to protect the country.

For years, Trump and his allies have argued that the U.S. is facing an “invasion” of people arriving in the country illegally.