Supreme Court blocks Trump Administration's deportation of Venezuelans

Supreme Court blocks deportation of Venezuelans

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's attempt to deport hundreds of Venezuelan men to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, leaving their fate uncertain.

HOUSTON - The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's attempt to deport hundreds of Venezuelan men to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, leaving their fate uncertain.

What we know:

In a brief order issued early Saturday, the Supreme Court directed the government not to deport any members of the putative class of detainees until further notice. The men, held in Texas, are alleged by the administration to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Currently, the Trump administration is seeking to deport hundreds of Venezuelan men detained about 200 miles north of Dallas. The administration claims these men are gang members, raising questions about the government's authority to apply the Alien Enemies Act outside a war situation.

Immigration Attorney Silvia Mintz explains the Supreme Courts decision on deportation

FOX 26's Jonathan Mejia talks with Silvia Mintz about SCOTUS' decision to temporarily halt alleged Venezuelan gang members deportation from Texas to El Salvador.

Case sent back to the 5th Circuit

What they're saying:

Silvia Mintz, an immigration attorney, explained the implications of the court's decision.

"This is a temporary order issued right after midnight. We need to return to the Fifth Circuit, and the justices will issue an aggregated opinion soon," Mintz said.

Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), representing the detainees, argued in their filing that the plaintiffs "ask only that this court preserve the status quo so that proposed class members will not be sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador before the American judicial system can afford them due process."

What is the Alien Enemies Act?

Dig deeper:

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is a wartime authority that allows the president to detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy nation. The law permits the president to target these immigrants without a hearing and based only on their country of birth or citizenship.

Has the Alien Enemies Act been used before?

The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked three times, each time during a major conflict: the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. In World Wars I and II, the law was a key authority behind detentions, expulsions, and restrictions targeting German, Austro-Hungarian, Japanese, and Italian immigrants based solely on their ancestry.

What conditions can the act be invoked?

The president may invoke the Alien Enemies Act in times of "declared war" or when a foreign government threatens or undertakes an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" against U.S. territory. 

The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war, so the president must wait for democratic debate and a congressional vote to invoke the Alien Enemies Act based on a declared war. But the president need not wait for Congress to invoke the law based on a threatened or ongoing invasion or predatory incursion. 

The president has inherent authority to repel these kinds of sudden attacks.

What's next:

The administration is expected to return to the Supreme Court to persuade the justices to lift their temporary order.