Alien Enemies Act in Action-Donald Trump’s Deportation Plan Gets Supreme Court Backing

In a notable split ruling on Monday, the highest court in the United States, the Supreme Court, gave President Donald Trump the temporary go-ahead to apply the Alien Enemies Act. This law is very old and dates back to the time when the country was at war, and it lets them quickly remove people who are believed to be part of gangs, especially a large number of Venezuelans.
The judges left their names off this ruling, which isn’t typical, and it means that while the lawyers are still debating the points legally in lower courts, the President’s administration can continue to use this law to deport these people.
The court’s decision overturned a temporary halt put in by Judge James Boasberg, which had been keeping the government from deporting individuals from the nation using this specific law. The justices were firm, however, that individuals who could be deported in the future should be informed about it and have the chance to dispute the move via a specific legal process known as habeas corpus.
In this case, six out of nine judges agreed with the ruling, while the other three, who are generally more sympathetic to the liberal viewpoint, didn’t. Justice Amy Coney Barrett had a slightly different opinion on some parts of the decision.
In his response, Trump posted on Truth Social, saying that the Supreme Court had reinforced the importance of the law and calling it a significant victory for fairness in the American legal system. He was very pleased with the decision, calling it “a great day for justice in America.”
The Alien Enemies Act, first passed long ago in 1798, lets the President decide whether or not people from countries that are not our allies in a war effort or when there is a critical threat like an “invasion or predatory incursion,” may be held in a holding action or even sent back to their countries of origin.
However, President Trump also feels that there is a risk posed by certain individuals who travel from Venezuela that could be part of gangs. So, he’s been using this old law to send more than 200 people to El Salvador because they’re supposedly connected to a gang from Venezuela called Tren de Aragua.
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump will be hosting El Salvador President Nayib Bukele at the White House next month El Salvador has proven to be one of our BEST allies, taking in HUNDREDS of deported Tren de Aragua gang members to imprison.@nayibbukele deserves this recognition more… pic.twitter.com/kRXbKoLBIk — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 28, 2025
But CNN found out that some of these people were sent away under different rules, not just because of this act. This has made the situation a bit puzzling when it comes to the legal moves the government is making. Attorney General Pam Bondi is pretty happy, though, calling it a “landmark victory.” She’s saying that “An activist judge in Washington, DC does not have the jurisdiction to seize control of President Trump’s authority.”
The decision was met with a storm of criticism. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a very strong disagreement, said that the way the administration acted was “an extraordinary threat to the rule of law” we all rely on. She accused them of ignoring what the courts below were asking and not listening to judges’ orders.
The court in Washington, D.C., had already said that the judge’s decision to stop the policy was okay by a vote of 2 to 1. Some of the judges who usually support the government were surprised by how broadly President Trump’s team was defining “invasion.” Judge Karen Henderson pointed out that the people who wrote our Constitution used “invasion” to talk about armies, not people moving into the country.
Groups that protect civil rights are worried now. They think that because of what the Supreme Court decided, migrants might not get a fair chance to argue against being sent back to their countries. Lawyers working with Venezuelan people who could be affected by this policy said, “The government’s rush to remove migrants under the act deprives them of due process.”
The rapid rate at which people are being deported has, unfortunately, resulted in some mistakes. A man named Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a father from Maryland, was wrongly sent to El Salvador because of what officials said was “an administrative error.”
His name is Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an American citizen from Maryland who was deported “by mistake” and who the Administration refuses to bring back. Bring him home! pic.twitter.com/jDN2Aksu8m — Justin Yselonia🧩🇺🇦🇮🇱🧡🎗️🟧🥜🇺🇸 (@JustinYselonia) April 7, 2025
This situation, even though it didn’t follow the same legal process as some others, still shows us the risks that come with quickly kicking people out of the country.
Earlier on that Monday, the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, stepped in and stopped a decision from a lower court that would have made the government bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. by the end of the day. The judge in that case, Judge Boasberg, wasn’t too pleased with how the administration was handling these removal cases. He even hinted that they could face serious trouble if they didn’t pay attention to what the courts were telling them.