BREAKING: SCOTUS orders the government not to remove anyone from the United States under Trump's Alien Enemies Act procl

[In It to Win It]

https://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.social/post/3ln5eyxapfk2m

Chris Geidner
‪@chrisgeidner.bsky.social‬

BREAKING: SCOTUS orders the government not to remove anyone from the United States under Trump’s Alien Enemies Act proclamation who is a part of the potential class in the Northern District of Texas case until further order of the court.

Only Thomas and Alito note their dissent.

This is an unusual order for several reasons, suggesting the majority thought it necessary. This was issued:
• after midnight
• before the government even responded (perhaps most irregular)
• while a Fifth Circuit request remains pending &
• before a dissenting justice could finish their statement.

Also, while the message is clear, the “putative class” is technically only those in the Northern District of Texas who could be subject to the AEA proclamation. (Despite what I’m seeing from some posts flying around. And, which is why my initial post is worded as it is.)

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. This makes me smile

Link to tweet

[Hekate]

2. Me too

[calimary]

5. Me three!

[lindysalsagal]

9. Thomas and Alito having the most to hide from their bribes. It's an admission of guilt.

[electric_blue68]

3. Woah! 7-2. Good!

I often stay up too late, but I'm glad I caught this!

[Bluethroughu]

4. The majority here, may have just put the Constitution

Above their king. That same Constitution that was written to protect the people from a King.

Excellent, more of this.

[lindysalsagal]

6. Here it is in WAPO: Supreme Court blocks Alien Enemies Act deportation of Venezuelan men

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/18/aclu-alien-enemies-deportations-trump/

The Trump administration was planning to deport at least 30 Venezuelan men under a rarely invoked wartime statute before the court ruled to temporarily halt it.

By Marianne LeVine, Jeremy Roebuck, Spencer S. Hsu and Aaron Schaffer
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration early Saturday to temporarily halt the deportations of at least 30 alleged Venezuelan gang members who immigration advocates say were at imminent risk of being removed from the country.

“The Government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this Court,” the order reads.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented.

The Trump administration was preparing to deport the Venezuelan men under the Alien Enemies Act, the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday as it scrambled to find a court it could persuade to step in and block the removals before it was too late.

[lindysalsagal]

8. Boasberg "has launched a criminal contempt inquiry." THAT's news.

Boasberg announced in an order this week that he has found probable cause that Trump administration officials willfully violated his order not to remove Venezuelan migrants from the country based the Alien Enemies Act, and he has launched a criminal contempt inquiry.

[Skittles]

7. Thomas and Alito

[Septua]

17. I'm wondering on what possible legal aspects...

..they could dissent? Seems like the "due process" right would preclude any other argument.

[Skittles]

19. GOP WHORE is their "reasoning"

[bluestarone]

18. Everyone here KNOWS that these two would allow TSF to do anything, everything HE wanted to do

THAT is a fact!!

[Buns_of_Fire]

10. "They've made their decision. Let them enforce it."

~Fatass Trump the Almighty, channeling Andrew Jackson.

[hlthe2b]

12. I know the history, but this seems almost taunting...

That can't be how you meant it? I'm happy for even small wins right now...

[Buns_of_Fire]

13. No, not taunting. Just resigned.

Even in the best of times, our legal system seems less concerned with "did he actually do it?" than it is with "was the third word in paragraph six misspelled?"

I guess I'm still searching for black-and-white answers in a technicolor world.

But yes, you're right, I'll take whatever victory I can get.

[hlthe2b]

11. I'm waking up to this (decision was pending when I, exhausted, went to bed).... Damn, good to see...

damned good. Chipping away at the Fascism, but a start.

[blogslug]

14. kick!

[BoRaGard]

15. k and r

[Igel]

16. It's also a simple extension of what they said before.

Can't deport without due process.

This was stopping something imminent before the detained had a chance to even point out, "Hey, there's been a mistake."

[LetMyPeopleVote]

20. 'Basically never happens': Legal expert singles out Alito slight in overnight Trump ruling

This made me laugh. When there is a dissent in ruling like this, the majority normally waits until the dissent is drafted and publishes the dissent with the opinion. Here the 7 justice majority did not wait for Scalia's dissent. SCOTUS is tried of trump and did not wait for Scalia's dissent
https://bsky.app/profile/realtuckfrumper.bsky.social/post/3ln6rhyox2j2p

Link to tweet

https://www.rawstory.com/alito-dissent/

In a series of posts on BlueSky, Slate legal analyst Mark Joseph Stern suggested the majority of justices on the Supreme Court appear to be angry with Donald Trump's administration's attempt to swiftly deport more immigrants in Texas while there are still questions about its legality.

Noting that seven of the nine justices on the conservative-majority court stepped in to stop the Alien Enemies Act rendition flight with an order issued at 1:30 AM, Stern pointed out that Justices Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented but were not given time to publish their reasoning.

As he wrote on BlueSky, "Obviously, a huge victory for the migrants here and a major defeat for Trump’s lawless effort to rush out a rendition flight before the courts could act. But also—potentially a massive signal from the Supreme Court that it is finally prepared to go toe to toe with Trump to halt AEA deportations.".....

In particular, he noted Alito would be publishing his dissent at a later time after that the rest of the court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, rushed out their ruling without waiting for him.

"It is SO unusual for the Supreme Court to issue an order this late at night and honestly incredible only Thomas and Alito noted their dissents," he wrote before adding, "Also fascinating that SCOTUS rushed out the order before Alito could finish writing his dissent. That basically never happens! Again—majority seems pissed."

[jmowreader]

21. So...

What happens when Trump does it anyway? It's not like there's anyone who can stop him from doing whatever the hell he wants. The Supremes can't remove him from office and there are AT LEAST 35 Republican senators who won't vote to convict in an impeachment trial.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

22. As legal fight raged, ICE buses filled with Venezuelans heading toward airport turned around, video shows

The trump DOJ was in the process of deporting a good number of detainees without giving them any real due process. The order from SCOTUS stopped a good number of detainees from being deported.
https://bsky.app/profile/laurenmeidasa.bsky.social/post/3lnaoycj5o225

Link to tweet

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/legal-fight-raged-ice-buses-filled-venezuelans-heading-airport-turned-rcna202007

Video from Friday night shows Immigration and Customs Enforcement buses full of Venezuelan migrants headed toward an airport in North Texas before abruptly turning around before the Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration must, for now, refrain from deporting Venezuelan men based in the state under the Alien Enemies Act.

At least 28 detainees — most, if not all, understood to be Venezuelan nationals — were placed on buses Friday evening at ICE’s Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, and then driven toward Abilene Airport about 30 miles away.

The motorcade — including at least 18 squad cars from various law enforcement agencies with flashing lights along the north Texas highways — left the ICE facility, with some men on board being told they were being deported to El Salvador and some told they were headed to Venezuela, according to the wife of one of the detainees and two lawyers representing other detainees at the facility. Prior to their departure, it was not clear what their destinations would be.

The video, obtained exclusively by NBC News, shows the ICE motorcade pass the airport’s exit and then turn around, looping back to return to the Bluebonnet detention facility.

The Trump administration is seeking to deport the men, who it says are members of the Tren de Aragua gang. It remains unclear whether the government has the authority to apply the Alien Enemies Act to gang members outside of a war situation, and whether adjudications about gang membership are accurate.

The administration has asked the Supreme Court to stop its pause on these would-be deportation flights.