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Supreme Court halts deportations

Temporary ruling allies OT Venezuelan migrants under 1798 wartime law

By: Andrew Chung
Luc Cohen
Kristian Cooke
and Jack Queen
Reuters

..... U.S. Supreme Court early on April 19 [2025] temporarily barred President Donald Trump's administration from deporting Venezuelan men in immigration custody after their lawyers said they were at imminent risk of removal without the judicial review previously mandated by the justices.
..... "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 justices said in a brief, unsigned decision.
..... The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
..... conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly dissented from the decision, issued around 12:55 AM. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed urgent inquests on April 18 [2025] in multiple courts, including the Supreme Court, urging immediate action after reporting that some of the men have already been loaded onto buses and were told they were to be deported. The ACLU said the rapid developments meant the administration was poised to deport the men using a 1798 law that historically has been employed only in wartime without affording them a realistic opportunity to contest their removal - as the Supreme Court had required.
..... "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. We are relieved that the Supreme Court has not permitted the administration to whisk them away the way others were just last month," [03/2025] said Lee Gelernt, the ACLU's lead attorney in the case, said in an April 19 [2025] statement. The case raises questions about Trump administration's adherence to limits set by the Supreme Court. It carries the risk of a significant clash between the two coequal branches of government and potentially a full-blown constitutional crisis.
..... Promising to crack down on migrants during his election run, Trump invoked the 1798 Alien enemies act in an attempt to swiftly deport accused members of Tren de Aragua, a gang originated from Venezuelan prisons that his administration labels a terrorist group.
..... The president and his senior aides have asserted their executive power grants them wide authority on immigration matters, testing the balance of power between branches of government.
..... During a hearing on April 18, [2025] a government lawyer said in a related case that he was unaware of plans by the Department of Homeland Security to deport the med that day but there could be depredations on April 19. [2025]
..... Trump scored one victory on April 18 [2025] when an appeals court put on hold a threat by District Judge James Boasberg of contempt charges.
..... Boasberg also denied an ACLU request to block Trump form deporting suspected members of Tren de Aragua, citing an April 7 [2025] Supreme Court ruling that allowed Trump to sue the Alien enemies Act albeit with certain limited.
..... Boasberg said he was concerned the government would deport additional people as soon as April 19 [2025] but that, "At this point I just don't think I have the power to do anything about it."
..... Trump previously called for Boasberg's impeachment following an adverse ruling, prompting a rare rebuke from U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts.
..... While one hearing played out in Boasberg's court, the ACLU worked on a separate track to halt the deportations of Venezuelans held in Texas.
..... ACLU lawyers field with the Supreme Court after failing to get a rapid response form earlier filing on April 18 [2025] before U.S. district Judge James Hendrix in Abilene, Texas, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to block any such deportations.
..... Habeas corpus relief refers to the right of detainees to challenges the legality of their detention. It is considered a bedrock right under U.S. law.
..... The Supreme Court did not indicate how much notice should be provided. Lawyers around the country have asked that the migrants be give 30 days' notice to allow them to contest their deportations. The Trump administration has not said publicly how much notice it intends to give the migrants.
..... The ACLU field a photo of one of the notices with the court.
..... "You have been determined to be an Alien enemy subject to apprehension, restraint, and removal,: read the notice. the recipient;s name was obscured, and it was noted that the migrant refused to sign it on April 18. [2025]
..... Asked about the planned deportations on April 18, [2025] Trump said he was unfamiliar with the particular case but added: "If they're bad people, I would certainly authorize it."
..... "That's why I was elected. A judge wasn't elected," he told reporters at the White House.
..... Defense lawyers and Democrats in Congress have pressed the administration to demonstrate how it knows the Venezuelans are members of the gang, which is active in human trafficking and their crimes in South America but has a smaller U.S. presence.
..... "We are not going to revel the details of counter terrorism operations, but we are complying with the Supreme Court's ruling." Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on April 18. [2025]

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