US Supreme Court halts deportations of Venezuelan migrants under wartime law

Sunday 20 April 2025 - 12:46

By: Zahouani Ilham

US Supreme Court halts deportations of Venezuelan migrants under wartime law

The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members under a rarely invoked wartime law. This decision came after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) requested emergency intervention, stating that many Venezuelan migrants faced imminent deportation without the judicial review the court had previously ordered.

The court's ruling instructed the government not to deport any members of the group until further notice. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the decision, issued at 12:55 a.m. The Trump administration responded by asking the justices to lift the order, arguing that the ACLU’s request should be rejected after a thorough review.

The White House stated that President Trump would continue his immigration enforcement policies but did not suggest defying the Supreme Court’s order. The Trump administration had already deported over 200 men, including Venezuelans and Salvadorans, to El Salvador, claiming they were gang members, though one deportee, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was removed by mistake.

ACLU lawyers filed urgent requests after some of the men were already loaded onto buses, indicating their deportation was imminent. The administration planned to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which has historically been used during wartime, without offering the detainees a real opportunity to contest their removal.

U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer requested the court lift the order to allow lower courts to address the adequacy of notice given to detainees. He also argued that the government had provided adequate notice before beginning deportations. However, Lee Gelernt, the ACLU's lead attorney, expressed relief that the Supreme Court had blocked the deportations, preventing the migrants from being sent to foreign prisons without a chance to present their case in court.

The situation is further complicated by reports from detainees who were allegedly falsely accused of gang membership. One of them, Diover Millan, a Venezuelan immigrant, was granted temporary protected status and had no criminal record. His family raised concerns about his wrongful detention and deportation.