US Supreme Court blocks Trump-era deportations of Venezuelans under wartime law

The US Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling halting the deportation of a group of Venezuelan men, temporarily blocking the Trump administration from using a centuries-old wartime law to remove detainees without due process.

The ruling, issued in a brief, unsigned order, comes after urgent appeals from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Caliber.Az reports per foreign mdia.

"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 stated.

Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the decision, which highlights growing legal friction over the Trump administration’s aggressive use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The administration has invoked the law—historically employed only during wartime—to expedite the deportation of alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang labeled by Trump officials as a terrorist group.

The ACLU, which filed emergency motions across several courts on Friday, argued that the administration was violating a prior Supreme Court directive requiring detainees be given an opportunity to seek judicial review before removal. “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,” the group warned.

A government lawyer claimed during a hearing on Friday that there were no immediate deportation plans, yet the ACLU reported that some migrants had already been loaded onto buses. The Supreme Court’s pause comes amid concern over compliance with its April 7 decision, which permitted removals under the Alien Enemies Act but required that “the notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs.”

The administration has not clarified how much notice it intends to give. One notice filed by the ACLU read: "You have been determined to be an Alien Enemy subject to apprehension, restraint, and removal."

Asked about the deportations, President Trump said: "If they're bad people, I would certainly authorize it. That's why I was elected. A judge wasn't elected."

As legal challenges continue, the Supreme Court has invited the government to respond after the Fifth Circuit acts on the matter.

By Vafa Guliyeva