The US Supreme Court blocked the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants detained in Texas under the Alien Enemies Act, a law only used in wartime.
The US Supreme Court ordered a halt to the deportations of Venezuelans until further notice, following emergency appeals filed Friday by an organization alleging that President Donald Trump’s administration is attempting to deport more migrants to El Salvador.
The US Supreme Court blocked the deportations of Venezuelans—detained at a migrant center in Texas—under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which has only been used in times of war.
In an emergency decision early Saturday morning, the Supreme Court halted the deportation of dozens of Venezuelans to El Salvador
In its order, which had two dissenting votes, the Supreme Court justices acted after an appeal filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that immigration authorities appeared to be restarting deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, invoked by Trump on March 14 to deport hundreds of Venezuelans accused of belonging to the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
The Supreme Court issued a ruling last week allowing deportations to a mega-prison in El Salvador to continue only if those being deported are notified of the transfer and given a “reasonable time” to appeal the decision.
The US government reached an agreement with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to send detained migrants in the US to the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), a maximum-security prison facing allegations of human rights abuses.
In total, the United States has sent over 200 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, to this prison, accusing them of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal gang that originated in a Venezuelan prison.
Image: DiarioNY
