In a stunning midnight ruling, the Supreme Court has blocked President Trump’s deportation of Venezuelan migrants, with Justice Alito blasting the decision as “unprecedented and legally questionable” in a blistering dissent.
At a Glance
- The Supreme Court blocked President Trump from deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, temporarily halting the use of the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act
- Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, issued a forceful dissent, criticizing the “hastily and prematurely granted” midnight decision
- The court’s unsigned order came without lower court input and advised the White House not to remove Venezuelans held in Texas’ Bluebonnet Detention Center
- Conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett surprisingly signed off on the decision blocking the deportations
- The rarely invoked Alien Enemies Act of 1798 allows deportation of citizens from enemy nations without hearings, most recently used during World War II
Midnight Intervention: Supreme Court Blocks Venezuelan Deportations
The Supreme Court has delivered a significant blow to President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts by blocking the administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members. The controversial decision, issued literally in the middle of the night, prevents the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely invoked wartime law that allows deportation of citizens from hostile nations without hearings. The court specifically advised the White House to halt removals of Venezuelans detained at Texas’ Bluebonnet Detention Center until further notice, effectively pausing deportations while it considers an emergency application filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
What’s particularly stunning about this legal maneuver is that conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett signed off on the decision along with the court’s liberal wing. The emergency application was processed at remarkable speed – within just eight hours of receipt – bypassing normal judicial protocol and preventing the White House from implementing a key component of President Trump’s border security strategy. This intervention marks a significant judicial constraint on executive authority over immigration enforcement, despite the administration’s insistence that detainees had received proper notification of their rights.
Supreme Court Halts Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act in 7-2 Ruling, Amid Ongoing Tensions
April 19, 2025
In a dramatic late-night decision, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary order on April 19, 2025, halting the Trump administration’s efforts to deport a group of…
— WEB3 (@WEB3WORLDWAR) April 20, 2025
Alito’s Blistering Dissent Highlights Judicial Overreach
Justice Samuel Alito’s forceful dissent, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, cuts to the heart of what many conservatives view as judicial overreach. “[T]he Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief without giving the lower courts a chance to rule, without hearing from the opposing party, within eight hours of receiving the application, with dubious factual support for its order, and without providing any explanation for its order,” wrote Justice Samuel Alito in his scathing assessment of the court’s action. The timing of the decision – made in the dead of night – and the complete bypass of lower courts has raised serious questions about judicial process in high-profile immigration cases.
Alito further criticized the decision as “hastily and prematurely granted,” questioning why such urgent action was warranted when the Trump administration had already provided assurances that detainees would have the opportunity to file habeas claims. The government had explicitly agreed not to remove detainees who filed such claims, making the Court’s emergency intervention appear unnecessary. This midnight judicial intervention represents a concerning precedent where the Supreme Court is acting as a first responder rather than the court of last resort it was designed to be.
The Alien Enemies Act: Resurrecting a 226-Year-Old Law
At the center of this legal battle is the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law dating back to the nation’s earliest days that permits deportation of citizens from hostile nations without hearings during wartime. The Act has rarely been invoked throughout American history, with its most notable use occurring during World War II. President Trump’s administration had sought to utilize this obscure statute as a tool to expedite the removal of Venezuelan migrants accused of gang affiliations, arguing that extraordinary measures were necessary to address the immigration crisis at the southern border.
“unprecedented and legally questionable” – Justice Samuel Alito
The Supreme Court had previously allowed limited deportations under the Act, provided due process was observed, making this sudden reversal all the more surprising. The ACLU’s emergency appeal claimed the Trump administration planned to deport more Venezuelan migrants with insufficient due process, an allegation the administration vigorously disputed. The court’s skepticism about the administration’s adherence to previous rulings requiring notification of deportees appears to have motivated this extraordinary intervention, despite the lack of lower court rulings on the specific circumstances at hand.
