Supreme Court blocks another round of Trump deportations to El Salvador

The Supreme Court ordered the government not to deport another group of Venezuelans to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, issuing an emergency order Saturday morning putting things on hold until courts can hear more arguments.

The justices stepped in even though the case is still pending before a lower court.

In an unsigned order, the justices said they are awaiting action by that court, but “the government is directed not to remove any member” of the Venezuelan migrants at issue until the Supreme Court makes a final decision.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented.

The case is the latest to test President Trump’s powers under the 1798 law that he’s using to bypass the regular immigration system and speed deportations of people the government says are members of MS-13 or Tren de Aragua, two foreign-based gangs the government has declared terrorist organizations.

The American Civil Liberties Union had rushed to the high court Friday after saying it learned that the government was moving Venezuelan men from other detention facilities to a single one in Texas.

The ACLU said notices to the Venezuelans were too vague to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive from a ruling earlier this month.

In that case, involving the first round of AEA deportations on March 15, the justices stripped jurisdiction from Judge James Boasberg, saying migrants did deserve a chance to contest their deportations under the AEA but must be brought in a so-called habeas case — a narrow but powerful challenge to government detention.

The justices said migrants must be given notice and a reasonable amount of time to bring a habeas challenge.

“The government’s actions to date, including its lightning-fast timeline, do not give members of the proposed class a realistic opportunity to contest their removal under the AEA,” said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer for the ACLU.

Lower courts have refused to step in, saying there’s no reason to believe the two named plaintiffs are in danger of deportation.

The ACLU has said that doesn’t help with other Venezuelans who aren’t named plaintiffs but who are part of the proposed class action case.

The Venezuelans fear they could be sent to El Salvador, where the U.S. has already deported more than 200 Venezuelans the administration says are members of Tren de Aragua.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who made a trip to try to get into the CECOT prison where most of the deportees are being held, said the Trump administration has already paid $4 million and has a total contract worth $15 million for El Salvador to hold American deportees.