The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 emergency decision in TRUMP v. J. G. G., et al. (2025) over the deportation of suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang under the Alien Enemies Act. The court’s decision allows the Trump administration to continue deportations of suspected Venezuelan gang members. However, they require that deportees have “reasonable time” for due process to challenge their deportations.
What Is the Alien Enemies Act?
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is a wartime law giving the President the power to detain or remove foreign citizens where there is a declared war or a hostile nation or government that threatens to invade the United States. The Alien Enemies Act was invoked in the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. The most recent use was under President Franklin Roosevelt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to detain Japanese immigrants suspected as alien enemies and place them in internment camps.
Where's the War?
We haven't declared war on Venezuela or any other country. However, President Donald Trump declared that the Tren de Aragua is a terrorist organization and invoked the Alien Enemies Act against them. The proclamation, Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren De Aragua, claims the gang conducts “irregular warfare” and takes “hostile actions against the United States.” Tren de Aragua is an international crime gang that began in a Venezuelan prison.
What Is the Issue?
President Trump issued the order on March 15, 2025. However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved Venezuelan migrants to a Texas detention facility before Trump signed the executive order.
These individuals were suspected Tren de Aragua gang members based on circumstantial evidence such as tattoos and clothing. One individual claimed he got a tattoo, not knowing it was tied to the gang because it looked “cool” on social media.
On March 15, the District Court of the Federal District of Columbia scheduled an emergency hearing over whether the use of the Alien Enemies Act was appropriate and to decide whether the individuals were gang members. However, DHS was already loading these individuals onto planes destined for a terrorism confinement prison in El Salvador.
U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order against the use of the Alien Enemies Act and ordered any planes carrying deported immigrants to return to the United States. The aircraft did not return, and the deportees did not have an opportunity for due process or to bring a writ of habeas corpus.
An imprisoned person brings a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the lawfulness of their detention or imprisonment. In this case, the Venezuelan deportees would have wanted to bring a writ of habeas corpus, claiming they were not part of the Tren de Aragua gang.
What Did the Supreme Court Say?
The Supreme Court decision vacated the temporary restraining order issued by the lower court.
The Supreme Court did not rule on the legality of deportations to the Salvadoran prison under the Alien Enemies Act. Instead, it determined where a plaintiff could bring a habeas corpus action. In this case, the challenge should have been in Texas, where the deportees were detained, not the District of Columbia, where the district judge issued the TRO.
The court ruled that detainees under the Alien Enemies Act must “receive notice that they are subject to removal under the Act” and must have the notice “within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued a concurrence to note that, in his view, habeas corpus proceedings have long been the proper way for plaintiffs to bar their transfers "going back to the English Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, if not further."
Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, Justice Jackson, and conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett dissented. Justice Sotomayor criticized the way the deportations evaded the rule of law and due process, while Justice Jackson criticized what she called the “fly-by-night approach” of deciding the case through the shadow docket.
The issue is not resolved. After the decision, the American Civil Liberties Union filed an emergency lawsuit to halt the deportations and review the legality of the detention. Federal judges in New York and Texas also issued TRO to stop the deportation of Venezuelan plaintiffs.
The Supreme Court will likely have to give this issue more consideration as deportations continue.
Related Resources
- Deportation and Removal Laws (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)
- Trump Invokes Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelan Nationals (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
- Writ of Habeas Corpus (FindLaw's Learn About The Law)
