The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the Trump administration to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal alien gang members from the United States.
The order from the high court reverses a lower court ruling from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg. Boasberg temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the Alien Enemies Act in a case involving five Venezuelan nationals, as well as on anyone else who may be affected.
The ruling is a significant win for the Trump administration that has leveraged the 18th century law to expedite the removal of criminal alien gang members from the United States. The Trump administration has likened the alien gangs present in the United States to a foreign “invasion or predatory incursion” that justifies the law’s use.
The Supreme Court ruled in the case 5-4, with all but Justice Amy Coney Barrett from the court’s conservative wing ruling in the majority. Barrett partially dissented from the majority. The court’s three liberal justices dissented together, according to The New York Times.
The high court’s order also says that the case in front of Boesberg’s court in the District of Columbia is the improper venue.
“The detainees are confined in Texas, so venue is improper in the District of Columbia,” the order states, according to the Times.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that all nine justices agreed that each alien should have the opportunity for judicial review in each case.
“As the court stresses, the court’s disagreement with the dissenters is not over whether the detainees receive judicial review of their transfers — all nine members of the court agree that judicial review is available,” Kavanaugh wrote. “The only question is where that judicial review should occur.”
The ruling follows another win for the White House from the high court in the case of Salvadoran national Kilmer Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to his home country of El Salvador. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis had given the Trump administration a deadline of midnight on Monday night for him to be returned to the United States.
The Trump administration challenged the deadline, saying that the jurisdictional issues of the case made the midnight deadline impractical, and Chief Justice John Roberts issued an order.
“UPON CONSIDERATION of the application of counsel for the applicants,” the order said. “IT IS ORDERED that the April 4, 2025 order of the United States District Court of of Maryland, case No. 8.25-cv-951, is hereby stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court. It is further ordered that a response to the application be filed on or before Tuesday, April 8th, 2025, by 5 p.m. (EDT).”
