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The U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary order early Saturday halting the deportation of a group of migrants in Texas who say the Trump administration is attempting to remove them under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime statute, CNN reported.
The top court’s order directed the government “not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this court.” The court also instructed the administration to respond to an emergency appeal after the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana takes initial action, the report said, adding that Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision.
Legal Tug-of-War Over Expedited Removals
According to the report, the emergency appeal was filed Friday by attorneys representing a group of Venezuelan migrants who claim they are at immediate risk of deportation without due notice or an opportunity to challenge their removal. The legal team included counsel from the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward.
The lawyers argued that their clients had received insufficient notice—some with less than 24 hours—about their deportation orders, the report said. At Friday’s emergency hearing, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt presented evidence of the rushed notifications, including photographs of the documents. “We hear men are being requested to change clothes,” Gelernt said, according to CNN, while urging the court to impose even a temporary pause.
District Court Raises Concerns, But Declines Action
In a late-night hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., expressed concern but ultimately concluded he lacked jurisdiction to halt the deportations. “I am sympathetic to everything you’re saying, I just don’t think I have the power to do anything,” Boasberg told Gelernt.
According to the report, Boasberg pressed Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign about whether deportations would begin immediately, to which Ensign reportedly said no flights were currently scheduled, while adding that the Department of Homeland Security reserved the right to carry them out on Saturday.
Contempt Proceedings Paused
Reports suggest Boasberg had previously initiated contempt proceedings against the administration for allegedly defying an earlier order to halt deportations—an order later vacated by the Supreme Court. However, those proceedings have now been temporarily paused by an appeals court pending further review.
Boasberg continued to question whether the government had complied with the Supreme Court’s earlier requirement that migrants be given proper notice and an opportunity for judicial review. “I certainly think the notice is very troubling,” he reportedly said, casting doubt on whether it met constitutional standards, but added, “I don’t think I have the ability to grant relief.”
Debate Over the Alien Enemies Act
The Trump administration has invoked the Alien Enemies Act—a wartime authority dating back to 1798—to expedite removals, bypassing some of the due process typically afforded under immigration law.
The Supreme Court had previously ruled that while the administration could use the act, migrants must receive clear notice and be allowed to challenge their deportations in the federal court district where they are detained.
During Friday’s hearing, DOJ attorney Ensign argued that the government was in compliance: “Anyone who says they want to challenge their removal is given a process to do so.”
However, advocates for the migrants have disputed that claim, citing confusion and lack of access to legal remedies.
