#SupremeCourt Allows #Trump to Use 1798 Wartime Law to #Deport People
The nation's highest court backed Trump's use of the #AlienEnemiesAct to speed up #deportations
by Charisma Madarang, April 8, 2025
"The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a massive win on Monday, voting 5-4 to allow his administration to continue rapidly deporting alleged gang members using the Alien Enemies Act.
The law, passed in 1798, gives presidents the authority to remove foreign nationals over the age of 14 from countries where the United States is either engaged in a declared war or subject to “invasion or predatory incursion” by their country of origin. The act has been invoked three times in U.S. history, each time during wartime, and is meant to counter the actions of foreign governments and regimes, not alleged criminals, gangs, or non-state actors. The law was also used to justify Japanese internment during WWII, and now, the Trump administration is using it to justify its deportations.
In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court tossed a district court decision that had temporarily blocked President Trump’s attempt to continue using the 227-year-old law after he sent almost 300 Venezuelan migrants to a notorious prison in #ElSalvador, known for human rights abuses.
"All nine justices agreed, however, that anyone the administration is seeking to deport under the Alien Enemies Act must receive notice of deportation and be given the opportunity to challenge the removal through '#habeas petitions' — meaning that migrants have the right to have their detention or deportation reviewed by the federal court, but only for themselves and in the area where they are being detained.
"The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the ruling, while Justice #AmyConeyBarrett, who was appointed by Trump, partially dissented. Barrett joined Justice #SoniaSotomayor’s dissent calling the majority’s legal conclusion 'suspect' and questioning if habeas claims should be the only way to contest deportations under the act.
"'The Court’s legal conclusion is suspect,' wrote #Sotomayor. 'The Court intervenes anyway, granting the Government extraordinary relief and vacating the District Court’s order on that basis alone.'"
Read more:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/supreme-court-ruling-alien-enemies-act-1798-trump-1235312485/
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/BJSoh
#ICEDetention #IllegalDeportations #SecretPolice #HumanRightsViolations #ConstitutionalRights #HumanRights #SCOTUSIsCompromised #SCOTUSIsCorrupt #USPol #ForcedDisappearances #MemoryHoled #1798AlienEnemiesAct
