The US Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to use a 1978 law that historically has been employed only in wartimes to be used to pursue deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
However, the court has imposed some restrictions on the use of 18th-century legislation.
In an unsigned 5-4 ruling, powered by conservative justices, the court granted the administration’s request to lift the March 15 order by Washington-based US Judge James Boasberg that had temporarily blocked the summary deportations under Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act while litigation in the case continues.
While the ruling favoured the Trump administration, the court’s majority placed limits on how deportations may occur, stressing that judicial review is required, reported Reuters.
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Condition Set By Court
The court ruled that detainees “must receive notice after” after the court order that they are subject to removal under the Act.
It further told the administration 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 top court also said that if a detainee has to challenge the legitimacy of their detention under the Alien Enemies Act, they must pursue so-called habeas corpus claims in the federal judicial district where the detainee is located.
That means that the proper venue for this litigation was in Texas, not the District of Columbia, the court said.
The ruling further stated that the court was not resolving the validity of the administration’s reliance on that law to carry out deportations.
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Trump Hails Ruling
The court has a 6-3 conservative majority and the court’s three liberal justices along with Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett dissented the ruling.
Reacting to the judgment, Trump said: “The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders, and protect our families and our Country, itself.”
The US President had invoked the Alien Enemies Act last month to swiftly deport the alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang in a bid to expedite removals with a law best known to be used to intern Japanese, Italian, and German immigrants during World War II.
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