The US Supreme Court has paved the way for President Donald Trump to employ a little-used wartime powers law to quickly deport suspected gang members at least temporarily.
Lower Court’s Block on Deportation Overruled
A lower court had temporarily halted the deportation of suspected Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador on 15 March, holding that the actions under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act required closer examination.
Trump charged that the migrants were from the Tren de Aragua gang “engaging in irregular warfare” against America and thus could be deported under the Act.
Supreme Court Mandates Opportunity for Legal Challenge
Whereas the administration is describing the ruling as a victory, the justices ordered that deportees be provided with an opportunity to contest their removal.
“The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs,” the justices wrote in the unsigned decision on Monday.
“The only question is which court will resolve that challenge,” they wrote.
Legal Challenge Misfiled in DC Instead of Texas
Monday’s ruling said the challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of five migrants was raised improperly in a Washington DC court and not in Texas, where the migrants are confined.
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the court’s three liberal justices dissented with the majority decision.
In the dissent, they stated that the administration’s “conduct in this litigation poses an extraordinary threat to the rule of law”.
Trump Hails Ruling as ‘Great Day for Justice’
Trump described the decision as a “great day for justice in America”.
“The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders, and protect our families and our Country, itself,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The ACLU also claimed the ruling as “a huge victory”.
“We are disappointed that we will need to start the court process over again in a different venue but the critical point is that the Supreme Court said individuals must be given due process to challenge their removal under the Alien Enemies Act,” lead ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement to US media.
Alien Enemies Act Used by Trump Draws Criticism
The Trump administration has at least deported 137 individuals using the Alien Enemies Act, a move that has been roundly criticized by rights activists.
The Act was used for the last time during World War Two and gives the US President immense powers to direct the detention and deportation of natives or citizens of an “enemy” country without adhering to the standard procedures.
It was enacted as part of a package of legislation in 1798 when the US expected to go to war with France.
Tren de Aragua Members Deported Amid Controversy
The deportees are all members of the Tren de Aragua gang, according to the Trump administration.
The highly influential multi-national crime syndicate, which was recently designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by Trump, has been blamed for sex trafficking, drug smuggling and murders both domestically and in major American cities.
ICE Concedes Most Deportees Lack Criminal Records
US immigration authorities have indicated that the detainees were “carefully vetted” and confirmed to be gang members prior to being flown to El Salvador, as part of a treaty with the nation.
However, most of the deportees lack US criminal records, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official conceded in court filings.
Some of the deported migrants’ relatives have spoken to the BBC that the men have been wrongly caught up in the immigration sweep, and that they are innocent.
A number of other families have indicated they think deportees were mistakenly identified as gang members due to tattoos.
Ruling Nullifies Earlier Judicial Block
Monday’s ruling nullifies an earlier federal judge James Boasberg ruling, subsequently upheld by a federal appeals court, which had temporarily halted the application of the law to use in deporting the men.
Boasberg had termed the government’s reaction to his order as “woefully insufficient”. The White House had stated that the judge’s order itself was unlawful and was made after two flights carrying the men had already departed the US.
Rights organizations and legal analysts have termed the use of the Act unprecedented, claiming that it has only ever been invoked following the formal declaration of war by the US, a power which only Congress is constitutionally authorized to declare.
