In a rare and high-stakes weekend decision, the U.S. Supreme Court early Saturday temporarily halted the Trump administration’s use of a centuries-old wartime law to deport people, many of whom are Venezuelan nationals, to a high-security prison in El Salvador. The order pauses the government’s controversial use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, at least for now, as legal challenges rapidly unfold.
The emergency ruling came in response to a late Friday appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which warned that deportation flights were imminent and that detainees faced the threat of indefinite incarceration in El Salvador without due process.
Scope of the Ruling
The Supreme Court’s unsigned order directs the federal government to stop deporting people detained in the Northern District of Texas under the Alien Enemies Act, a law last used during wartime in the early 20th century. It does not apply to deportations in other regions, although lower courts in New York and Southern Texas have issued separate temporary blocks.
The decision does not permanently stop the deportations—it simply freezes them until the Court can fully consider the ACLU's arguments.
A Divided Court
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, both conservatives, dissented from the decision. The rest of the Court, including other conservative members, did not publicly note disagreement.
The ruling marks a temporary win for immigrant advocates and civil liberties groups, which have sounded alarms over the Trump administration’s escalating immigration enforcement tactics.
Background and Legal Battle
The Trump administration first invoked the Alien Enemies Act in March, claiming the law—meant for use during wartime or an “invasion” by a foreign power—was justified due to threats posed by Tren de Aragua, a transnational Venezuelan gang. Over 100 people have already been deported under this legal theory to Tecoluca, a notorious Salvadoran “megaprison.”
On Friday, as reports emerged that people were being bused to airports for another wave of deportations, the ACLU rushed to act. In an emergency appeal to multiple courts, it argued that detainees were at immediate risk of being deported into dangerous conditions without judicial review.
“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.
Conflicting Lower Court Rulings
Earlier Friday, a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the ACLU’s appeal, saying it had not given the district judge enough time to act. According to court documents, Judge James Hendrix, a Trump appointee overseeing the case in Texas, was given only 42 minutes before the ACLU moved forward with its appeal. The appeals panel, which includes judges appointed by both Presidents Trump and Biden, said it trusted Hendrix to act quickly if necessary.
In a separate case in Washington, Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, ruled he lacked jurisdiction after the Supreme Court clarified last week that legal challenges must be filed in the district where detainees are physically held. Boasberg had previously issued an order to halt deportations and even found probable cause to hold the administration in criminal contempt for allegedly violating that order. However, an appeals court temporarily stopped the contempt proceedings on Friday.
Uncertain Path Forward
The Biden-era ACLU has described the administration's legal maneuver as “unprecedented,” arguing that the Alien Enemies Act has never been used outside of declared war. Historically, the law has only been applied during World War I, World War II, and a short period in the Cold War—and even then, under far narrower circumstances.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign, representing the administration, told a lower court Friday that no deportation flights were scheduled but maintained the government reserved the right to proceed “tomorrow.”
While the Supreme Court’s intervention has temporarily paused the deportations in Texas, the broader legal fight continues. Immigration attorneys and civil rights groups are preparing for a constitutional showdown over the legality of using a 226-year-old law to deport asylum seekers amid no formal declaration of war.
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