US Supreme Court temporarily halts deportation of Venezuelans detained in Texas

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary pause early Saturday on the deportation of a group of Venezuelan immigrants detained in Texas, intervening in a rapidly developing case that challenges the Trump administration’s attempted use of the Alien Enemies Act.

The Court's unsigned order blocks the removal of individuals who are part of a putative class of Venezuelan detainees while lower court proceedings continue. Though the Court did not provide an explanation for its decision, it directed the government not to deport any members of the group “until further order of this court,” Caliber.Az reports, citing US media.

Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the ruling but did not issue a written opinion.

Attorneys for the immigrants filed an emergency appeal Friday, arguing that their clients were at risk of imminent removal and had not received adequate notice or legal opportunity to contest their deportation. The case centers on the government's alleged use of the Alien Enemies Act—a centuries-old statute rarely invoked in modern times—against a group of Venezuelans in immigration detention.

In a response later on April 19, the Trump administration urged the justices to preserve its ability to deport the individuals under other provisions of immigration law while litigation unfolds. The administration maintains that its actions are lawful and not solely dependent on the controversial 1798 act.

The Supreme Court’s order also stipulates that the government must respond after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana takes action on the case.

For the record, the Alien Enemies Act, part of the original Alien and Sedition Acts, grants the president power to detain or deport non-citizens from nations with which the U.S. is at war. Legal scholars have long debated its constitutionality and relevance in the modern era, particularly in the absence of a formal declaration of war.

By Khagan Isayev