Supreme Court Blocks Trump Initiative to Deport Venezuelan Migrants Using Alien Enemies Act

In a significant development on immigration policy, the Supreme Court on Friday sided with a group of Venezuelan migrants who sought to halt their deportation under the historic Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798. The high court’s decision marks a notable setback for the Trump administration, which has used the AEA in efforts to expedite removals of undocumented immigrants.

The justices ruled that the migrants in question were not given sufficient time to legally challenge their deportations. Similar to previous rulings, the court emphasized procedural fairness rather than weighing in on the merits of the Alien Enemies Act itself. In particular, the affected individuals reportedly received only about 24 hours' notice before their scheduled deportation—without adequate information about how to assert their due process rights.

“Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster,” the opinion stated. However, the Supreme Court stopped short of spelling out precisely what process was constitutionally required, instead remanding the case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for further consideration.

The Trump administration has argued that invoking the Alien Enemies Act would allow for swifter action against individuals it classifies as ineligible to remain in the country. But this latest Supreme Court ruling is the second time in recent months that the nation’s highest court has blocked federal efforts to remove detainees already held in custody—this time specifically in a northern region of Texas.

• The court did not rule on whether the AEA itself is constitutional or lawful.
• The matter now returns to the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit for further proceedings.
• The narrowest issue decided: “We decide today only that the detainees are entitled to more notice than was given on April 18,” the justices affirmed.

The outcome leaves unresolved questions about the scope and future use of the Alien Enemies Act in immigration enforcement. For now, the immediate effect is a pause on deportations for the impacted Venezuelan migrants, while lower courts determine what constitutes fair notice and access to due process rights in such cases.