By Harold Hutchison
The Supreme Court temporarily halted the Trump administration’s efforts to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport members of a violent prison gang early Saturday morning.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had been turned back by two judges prior to the Supreme Court’s emergency injunction, with associate justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting from the ruling, Fox News reported. The ACLU had also gone before United States District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia, who held a Friday evening hearing on the matter. (RELATED: Alan Dershowitz Predicts Judge’s Threat To Appoint Prosecutor Over Deportation Flights ‘Won’t Stand’)
In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, members of the National police escort an inmate allegedly linked to criminal organizations at CECOT on March 16, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Trump’s administration deported 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal organizations ‘Tren De Aragua’ and Mara Salvatrucha with only 23 being members of the Mara. Nayib Bukele president of El Salvador announced that his government will receive the alleged members of the gang to be taken to CECOT. On February of 2023 El Salvador inaugurated Latin America’s largest prison as part of President Nayib Bukele’s plan to fight gangs. (Photo by Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump issued several executive orders to address illegal immigration and border security upon taking office Jan. 20, including designating Mexican drug cartels, the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and the El Salvadoran prison gang MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up the deportation of TdA gang members on March 15.
Boasberg issued a March 15 injunction ordering the Trump administration to turn two planes carrying members of TdA to El Salvador around. Boasberg has since threatened to hold the Trump administration in contempt of court for not turning the planes around.
The Supreme Court overturned Boasberg’s orders in a 5-4 decision issued April 7, saying Boasberg lacked the authority to issue the injunction, because a different district court in Texas had jurisdiction instead. But one of the new challenges came from Texas, where the gang members are being detained pending their deportation. The Supreme Court’s April 7 ruling left open the possibility that Trump had the power to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport gang members, but suggested that people accused of being gang members had a right to due process before being deported.
The Border Patrol encountered millions of illegal immigrants during the Biden administration, according to figures released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced Feb. 25 that only 200 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, the lowest single-day total in 15 years.
