Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court early Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelan migrants accused of gang ties. The administration sought to remove the individuals under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime statute that allows the president to detain or deport nationals of a hostile foreign nation.
In a brief, unsigned decision issued at approximately 12:55 a.m. ET on April 19, 2025, the justices wrote: “The Government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this Court.” The order temporarily halts deportations while the underlying legal challenge proceeds in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. publicly dissented from the decision.
The case involves at least 34 Venezuelan men currently held in detention centers in Texas and Florida. The Trump administration alleges they are affiliated with transnational criminal organizations such as the Tren de Aragua, but civil rights attorneys say many have not been convicted of crimes and may qualify for asylum.
The Department of Justice invoked the Alien Enemies Act (50 U.S.C. §§ 21–24), a law enacted in 1798 that allows the president to deport nationals of countries deemed dangerous during wartime. The statute has rarely been used in modern times. Critics argue that it is being misapplied in peacetime to justify fast-track deportations without due process.
According to The Washington Post, civil liberties groups, including the ACLU and the National Immigrant Justice Center, filed emergency appeals to stop the deportations, arguing the law is being used to circumvent standard immigration procedures and constitutional protections.
Supreme Court Filing: View the PDF Document
President Trump defended the deportations in a post on Truth Social, writing:
“The Supreme Court must let me do my job. America cannot afford to harbor foreign gang members. This is about safety, sovereignty, and law!”
The Supreme Court’s order provides a temporary reprieve while the appeals court considers whether the use of the Alien Enemies Act in this context is lawful. The Department of Justice has until Tuesday to respond to the petition.
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