The United States Supreme Court issued an emergency order late Saturday temporarily halting the Trump administration’s unprecedented use of a centuries-old law to deport Venezuelan migrants without due process.
The dramatic intervention came just hours before dozens were set to be expelled to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
The 5-4 decision blocks the administration from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act—last employed during World War II to intern Japanese-Americans—to summarily deport migrants accused of gang ties. The court’s brief order stated: “The government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order.”
Two conservative justices dissented as the ruling paused Trump’s policy of sending Venezuelans to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, which houses thousands of gang members. The administration had invoked the obscure law last month, bypassing courts to deport migrants it labeled terrorists.
The emergency petition was filed after lawyers learned of imminent Friday night deportations. “These men were in imminent danger of spending their lives in a horrific foreign prison without ever having had a chance to go to court,” said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, who led the challenge.
Undeterred, the Justice Department filed a counter-motion Saturday urging the Court to either allow the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act or clarify that alternative laws could be used.
Critics allege the policy targets migrants based on flimsy evidence, including tattoos. In one high-profile case, Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported last month before officials admitted an “administrative error.” Despite a court ordering his return, Trump has insisted—using a disputed photo—that Garcia bears MS-13 gang tattoos.
The policy has become a flashpoint in Trump’s broader immigration crackdown, which includes troop deployments to the Mexican border, tariffs on neighboring countries over migration, and terrorist designations for gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13.
Trump allies reacted furiously to the ruling. Right-wing commentator Laura Loomer claimed the president was “gracious” for deporting rather than having migrants “shot to death” at the border. Another influencer, Jesse Kelly, bluntly posted: “Ignore the Supreme Court.”
Democrats and civil rights groups warn the policy erodes constitutional protections. “This is about whether the executive branch can unilaterally declare people enemies and disappear them,” said Georgetown law professor Jonathan Turley.
