An Attorney in the Case Denounced the Decision as a Strong Condemnation of the Government’s Rushed Deportation Efforts to a Harsh Salvadoran Prison
Recently, for the second occasion in under a month, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a verdict against the Trump administration’s controversial use of an ancient law to expel immigrants, including those with protected status, without proper legal process.
In a decisive 7-2 outcome, with conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito opposing, the Supreme Court determined that President Donald Trump’s administration had infringed upon the due process rights of Venezuelan migrants. The administration had attempted to expedite their deportation to the infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador by employing the 1798 Alien Enemies Act during a non-war period. The Court clarified that their decision did not challenge the use of the Alien Enemies Act for deportations generally but focused specifically on the due process rights of the migrants.
“Providing roughly 24 hours of notice before deportation, without any guidance on how to challenge this action, is clearly insufficient.”
The justices highlighted the significant stakes for the detainees, stating, “Under these circumstances, providing roughly 24 hours of notice before deportation, without any guidance on how to challenge this action, is clearly insufficient.”
The Court also expressed its reluctance to specify the exact requirements needed to meet constitutional standards from its distant position from the on-the-ground realities. Instead, it criticized the federal appellate court for improperly dismissing the detainees’ appeal due to supposed lack of jurisdiction and subsequently sent the case back to the 5th Circuit for further evaluation.
Lee Gelernt, the Deputy Director of ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead attorney in the case, responded to the Friday ruling by saying, “The court’s decision to halt the deportations serves as a strong condemnation of the government’s rushed efforts to send people to a harsh Salvadoran prison.”
Gelernt also noted the significant implications of employing a wartime law in a non-war context without providing due process, emphasizing the deep concerns this raises.
The Supreme Court’s opinion brought attention to the plight of Kilmar Abrego García, a Maryland resident with protected status who was mistakenly deported to CECOT in March. In a unanimous decision last month, the Supreme Court mandated that Trump ensure Abrego García’s return to the U.S. Despite this, the Trump administration has been hesitant to comply, even though the president has stated he would follow the Supreme Court’s orders in such matters.
Steve Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown Law Center, discussed with CNN on Friday that “since lower courts have blocked the use of the [Alien Enemies Act] in every other jurisdiction where the president has attempted to use it, it effectively puts a hold on all removals under this act until the 5th Circuit — and likely the Supreme Court itself — definitively decides on their legality and the extent of due process required.”
Furthermore, on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines, a Trump appointee, issued the first court decision in favor of deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.
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