Supreme Court blocks new deportations of Venezuelans in Texas under 18th-century wartime law

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.The Supreme Court had said earlier in April that deportations could proceed only if those about to be removed had a chance to argue their case in court and were given “a reasonable time” to contest their pending removals.“We are deeply relieved that the Court has temporarily blocked the removals.These individuals were in imminent danger of spending the rest of their lives in a brutal Salvadoran prison without ever having had any due process,” ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said in an email.On Friday, two federal judges refused to step in as lawyers for the men launched a desperate legal campaign to prevent their deportation.The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to act.One of the judges said the case raised legitimate concerns but he could not issue an order.The ACLU had already sued to block deportations of two Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet facility and sought an order barring removals of any immigrants in the region under the Alien Enemies Act.In an emergency filing early Friday, the ACLU warned that immigration authorities were accusing other Venezuelan men held there of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which would make them subject to President Donald Trump’s use of the act.The act has only been invoked three previous times in US history, most recently during World War II to hold Japanese-American civilians in internment camps.The Trump administration contended it gave them power to ...