Supreme Court Halts, For Now, New Deportations Under 18th Century Wartime Law

[SunSeeker]

Source: Huffington Post

The Supreme Court on Saturday blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law.

In a brief order, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.”

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.

The high court acted in an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.




Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/us-trump-deportations-aclu_n_6802f1eae4b09556e3202a68

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Let's see if he obeys.

[SunSeeker]

3. I bet Stephen Miller will move them to LA or FL and fly them out of there.

They'll argue that SCOTUS order only applies to those in the Bluebonnet Detention Center in TX.

[markodochartaigh]

2. I just saw Aaron Parnas'

video of this. It's good to see that if we, the people, are having trouble sleeping, so are the supreme court justices.

https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/breaking-supreme-court-blocks-deportations?publication_id=1810164&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&r=210ew&utm_medium=email

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Here is the SCOTUS ORDER

Link to tweet

[SunSeeker]

8. That order seems to cover everyone, not just those in the Bluebonnet Detention Center.

Stephen Miller will have a hissy fit.

[Moosepoop]

16. I don't think it extends nationwide.

The order refers to the "putative class" that has (had) an imminent ruling coming from the 5th Circuit. That would limit it to just those about to be loaded on buses/planes from the Bluebonnet Detention Center.

I could be wrong, but that's how it reads to me.

[tavernier]

18. "From the United States"

Sounds pretty clear to me.

[Moosepoop]

19. Right, they cannot be removed from the United States.

But again, those that are ordered to not be removed are those in the "putative class" -- the 30 or so men who were about to be removed in northern Texas. That's who the emergency filings were about.

[orangecrush]

5. Kick

[dchill]

6. "Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented."

Of course they did. The Constitution just doesn't sit right with them.

[orangecrush]

7. Of course.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Who is surprised by this

[pat_k]

12. If we end this nightmare, part of ...

redeeming our national soul will be convicting these two for treason.

[JoseBalow]

14. drumpf will claim only those dissenting opinions count when he ignores the order

"If the chief Justice disagrees, then it must be invalid so we can ignore it," or some other such nonsense.

drumpf refuses to be constrained or told what he can't do. He'll concoct the most twisted and convoluted argument to justify his continuing to act with impunity, and his lackeys will all line up and support his bullshit.

He's completely out control, I no longer put anything past him.

[Montauk6]

15. Leave it to Slappy and the Sid Caesar wannabe

[bluestarone]

17. It was NEVER 9-0 decision!!

I will never believe these two ever voted against TSF. NEVER!

[DFW]

10. Preamble to the Constitution reaffirmed as guiding principles for US laws

Thomas, J. and Alito, J., dissenting.

[CitizenZero]

11. Of Course

We are not at war. The Alien Enemies Act only allows deportation of male citizens of an enemy nation during wartime. Again, we are not at war, and certainly not with any Central American country. Only Congress can declare war. The Trump Regime's use of the Act is pretty weak and not legally sound, in my opinion. Of course Thomas and Alito dissent. They are unprincipled right wingers who would bend and break the law to fit their own radical ideology. The Trump Regime doesn't care about the law either, and only use it to cover their heinous policies. Hopefully this will stick and the policy will be stopped.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. I'm glad they suddenly reacted quickly

instead of slow-walking it and glad the ACLU reacted as fast as they did after Boasberg threw up his hands.

But I expect they will ignore it anyway.

[bluestarone]

20. If they are fair, i say block this until

Nov 6th 2028 (set hearing date after next election)

[LetMyPeopleVote]

21. '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 Alito's dissent. SCOTUS is tried of trump and did not wait for Alito's dissent

'Basically never happens': Legal expert singles out Alito slight in overnight Trump ruling https://twp.ai/4ile7v

— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T18:32:35.000Z

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."

Has Alito's dissent come out yet?

[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.

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

At least 28 detainees were placed on buses Friday evening at ICE’s Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, and then driven toward an airport.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...

— Lauren Ashley Davis (@laurenmeidasa.bsky.social) 2025-04-20T12:53:22.061Z

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.