The Supreme Court extended its order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from swiftly deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members being detained in portions of Texas, chastising the administration for not giving them more due process.
Over the dissents of conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, the emergency decision prevents authorities from removing the migrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as a legal challenge proceeds, a win for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is suing on the migrants’ behalf.
But the justices declined the ACLU’s additional request to leapfrog the lower courts to immediately take up the issue of whether President Trump can invoke the rarely used law outside of wartime.
Instead, the case will return to the lower courts alongside a handful of other challenges being brought by the civil rights group around the country. The issue could ultimately return to the justices, who directed the lower courts to act “expeditiously.”
In its opinion, the justices blasted the Trump administration for giving as little as 24 hours notice before whisking migrants away to a foreign prison, from which the White House argues they are unable to secure their return.
Posted by John3262005