The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to resume deportations of migrants it says are affiliated with a Venezuelan gang by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
In an unsigned order, the justices sided with the Justice Department, which argued that challenges to the removals were filed in the wrong jurisdiction. The court said the detainees, who are held in Texas, cannot contest their deportations in the District of Columbia. “As a result, the government is likely to succeed on the merits of this action,” the court wrote.
The justices specified that migrants subject to the Alien Enemies Act after the ruling must be given notice and an opportunity to seek habeas relief in the correct venue before being removed.
A lower court had temporarily blocked the administration from using the 220-year-old wartime law to carry out removals, but the Supreme Court’s decision lifts that stay.
The ruling comes as legal battles continue to mount over Trump’s second-term policies, with more than 100 lawsuits filed against various parts of his agenda and several disputes already reaching the high court.
