In a late-night decision, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened to temporarily halt the Trump administration’s planned deportation of Venezuelan men held in immigration custody. The justices issued an order early Saturday morning, preventing the government from removing any members of the affected group until further notice.
The brief, unsigned decision, released around 12:55 a.m., came after lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed urgent requests in multiple courts, including the Supreme Court, citing imminent deportations.
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The ACLU alleged that some detainees had already been placed on buses and informed of their impending removal.
“The Government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this Court,” the Supreme Court’s order stated.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly dissented from the decision.
The ACLU’s emergency appeals stemmed from concerns that the administration was preparing to deport the men under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a law historically reserved for wartime, without affording them the judicial review previously mandated by the Supreme Court. The organization argued that the rapid developments effectively denied the detainees a fair opportunity to contest their removal.
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The Trump administration’s actions centered on accused members of Tren de Aragua, a criminal gang originating from Venezuelan prisons, which the administration has labeled a terrorist group.
President Trump, who campaigned on a promise to tighten immigration enforcement, invoked the 1798 Act to expedite the deportations.
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