Supreme Court Stops Trump Admin From Deporting Venezuelans Using 1700s Law, For Now

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily stopped the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelan immigrants being held in a Texas detention center, after concerns were raised over the use of a centuries-old wartime law.

The administration had moved to deport individuals from the Bluebonnet Detention Center under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law historically used during wartime to detain people considered threats to national security. It’s only been invoked a few times in U.S. history, most notably during World War II.

In this case, the administration argued that some of the Venezuelan men were linked to a violent gang known as Tren de Aragua, and used that to justify fast-tracking their removal. Immigration attorneys, however, said their clients never had a chance to present their case in court and were being pressured to sign legal documents they didn’t understand.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stepped in, warning that deportations were happening without due process and that detainees were being moved to Bluebonnet, an area where no judge had yet blocked the removals.

After emergency appeals failed at the lower court level, the ACLU took the case to the Supreme Court. On Saturday, the justices issued a temporary pause, stopping the deportations until further notice. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito disagreed with the order.

Though earlier this month the Supreme Court ruled that deportations could go forward only if detainees were given a fair chance to fight removal, it appears that didn’t happen in Bluebonnet. The ACLU said ICE took advantage of legal loopholes, moving detainees to regions where protections hadn’t yet been granted.

The case now sits in legal limbo as the Trump administration is expected to return to the Supreme Court soon to push for the deportations to continue.