Supreme Court Allows Deportation of Venezuelan Migrants Under Wartime Law, Mandates Due Process

The US Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration can continue deporting Venezuelan migrants under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law, but stipulated that deportees must be granted “reasonable time” to appear before a judge, Al Jazeera reports.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court overturned a lower federal court order that sought to temporarily halt summary deportations under the Act. The Trump administration has invoked the law, previously utilized during World War II, to justify the deportation of individuals allegedly affiliated with Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, claiming they are “conducting irregular warfare” within the US.

Although the court authorized the administration’s use of the wartime law for deportations, it affirmed that deportees retain the right to due process, emphasizing their entitlement to “notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.”

The dissenting opinion was supported by the court’s three liberal justices and conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who agreed with portions of their argument.

Both the Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), representing five Venezuelans in the case, characterized the ruling as a victory.

Separately, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court’s order compelling the Trump administration to return a Salvadoran man to the US after his erroneous deportation. The lower court had demanded the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador, where he was mistakenly deported on March 15, by midnight on Monday. The Supreme Court’s temporary stay allows the justices additional time to review the case.

In January, the Trump administration designated MS-13 a “terrorist organization.”