U.S. Supreme Court Suspends Removal of Detained Venezuelans

Alleged members of a Venezuelan gang have been deported to El Salvador's Cecot, the Terrorism Confinement Centre.

Supreme Court Halts Deportation of Venezuelan Detainees Under Controversial Wartime Law

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a temporary halt to the deportation of a group of detained Venezuelan men, following a legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The detainees are being held in North Texas under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime law that grants the president broad authority to detain and deport nationals from countries deemed hostile.

The Trump administration has invoked the law to send dozens of Venezuelan nationals, accused of gang affiliations, to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. The act has previously only been used three times in American history, most recently during World War II, when Japanese Americans were incarcerated without trial.

The Supreme Court initially ruled on April 8 that the administration could proceed with deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, but required that detainees be given the opportunity to challenge their removal in court. However, a new legal filing argued that many detainees had not been informed of this right and received deportation notices in English, despite some speaking only Spanish.

The ACLU lawsuit contends that these individuals face potential life imprisonment in El Salvador without due process. "Without this Court's intervention, dozens or hundreds... may be removed... with no real opportunity to contest their designation or removal," the suit stated.

The latest order temporarily blocks the deportation of the group in question. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the decision.

Since taking office in January, President Trump has pursued an aggressive immigration agenda. He accused members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua of attempting to carry out a “predatory incursion” into U.S. territory.

Of the 261 Venezuelans deported to El Salvador as of April 8, 137 were removed under the Alien Enemies Act, according to a senior administration official.

One high-profile case involved the mistaken deportation of Kilmar Ábrego García, a Salvadoran national accused of gang ties—an allegation denied by his family and legal team. He has never been convicted of a crime. Though the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the government should assist in his return, the administration has stated he will "never" be allowed to live in the U.S. again.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Ábrego García in El Salvador, reported that he had been transferred from the notorious Cecot mega-prison to another facility.