Trump lawyers ask Supreme Court to allow Alien Enemies Act deportations
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow officials to use a wartime authority known as the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua without holding hearings.
It was the third time this week that the administration had asked the justices to intervene after one of its initiatives was blocked in court, and the sixth since President Donald Trump took office and began issuing a blizzard of executive actions.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg blocked Trump officials from deporting Venezuelans under the act while litigation on the matter continues, sparking a high-profile showdown between Trump and the federal judiciary.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed Boasberg’s temporary restraining order.
The administration has argued that the president’s right to invoke the Alien Enemies Act is not subject to judicial review because the president has expansive power to make national security decisions.
The law allows for the detention and removal of citizens of a country with which the United States is at war. It was last invoked during World War II to intern Japanese, Italian and German nationals; it also laid the foundation for the internment of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans.
Legal experts have questioned the justification for invoking the 1798 law to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, given that the United States is not at war with that country. The Trump administration has designated the gang a foreign terrorist organization and says it has invaded the United States.
In issuing his order, Boasberg told administration officials to turn around any planes that had taken off with people being deported under the act. Trump officials did not do so. More than 130 Venezuelans were deported to a prison in El Salvador, which has contracted with the United States to hold them. Lawyers and relatives for some of the men have denied they have ties to the gang, and the Justice Department said in court filings that “many” do not have criminal records.
Trump and some of his allies lashed out at Boasberg, calling for his impeachment and removal from the case. The attacks prompted Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to issue a rare statement criticizing the impeachment calls.
Justice Department lawyers also took the unusual step of invoking the state secrets privilege, which allows presidents to withhold from courts sensitive information that might jeopardize national security.
Boasberg has yet to rule on that motion.