US Supreme Court halts Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan Migrants

In a late-night decision on Saturday, the United States Supreme Court stopped President Donald Trump from continuing a controversial deportation policy targeting Venezuelan migrants under an old and rarely used law.

The emergency ruling blocks the government from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act , a law last applied during World War II, to remove migrants without giving them a chance to defend themselves in court.

The order came as dozens of Venezuelans were about to be deported to a high-security prison in El Salvador, where thousands of gang members are currently held.

While two of the court’s most conservative justices disagreed with the decision, the majority ruled that “the government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order.”

Trump had invoked the Alien Enemies Act last month, arguing it was necessary to remove individuals he described as violent gang members, and has claimed many of them belong to criminal groups now classified as terrorist organizations.

However, critics say this move violates the US Constitution and is part of a larger effort by the former president to expand his power.

Civil rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), celebrated the ruling.

“These men were in imminent danger of spending their lives in a horrific foreign prison without ever having had a chance to go to court,” said ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt.

The Trump administration responded quickly, urging the court to allow deportations to continue under the same or different legal grounds, stressing that the individuals in question are considered security threats.

Trump’s broader immigration strategy has included sending troops to the US-Mexico border, labeling gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as terrorist groups, and imposing economic penalties on neighboring countries for not doing enough to curb illegal migration.

Some Venezuelans have already been deported under this policy, with their lawyers claiming that many were profiled based on tattoos rather than concrete evidence of gang affiliation.

One widely discussed case involved Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Venezuelan living in Maryland who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

Although a court ordered his return, Trump has continued to claim he is a gang member, even sharing a seemingly edited image online to support the accusation.

As more legal battles emerge, Trump and his supporters have continued to criticize the judiciary, accusing judges of being biased.

Right-wing influencer Jesse Kelly even posted a defiant message on social media in reaction to the court’s order, saying: “Ignore the Supreme Court.”

The controversial use of the Alien Enemies Act has raised alarms among Democrats and civil rights groups, who say the policy undermines fundamental rights and due process.