WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s administration has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that temporarily blocks the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport certain Venezuelan nationals.
Earlier this month, the administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act—an 18th-century wartime statute—to deport over 200 Venezuelan men to a high-security prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador. The individuals were alleged to be affiliated with Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization designated by the administration as a foreign terrorist group.
Following these deportations, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order halting further removals under the Act. A 2-1 decision by a panel from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Boasberg’s ruling earlier this week.
On Friday, Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court, asserting that national security and immigration enforcement decisions fall under the President’s constitutional authority. “The republic cannot afford a different choice,” Harris wrote, arguing that judicial interference could disrupt foreign policy operations.
The legal challenge was initiated by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Democracy Forward, who allege that the individuals were deported without due process protections. According to court filings, the administration acknowledged that many of those deported had no criminal records in the U.S., but argued that limited information on specific individuals increases national security concerns.
During oral arguments, Judge Patricia Millett of the D.C. Circuit cited historical uses of the Alien Enemies Act, noting that individuals during World War II received hearings before removal. She questioned why similar legal procedures were not applied in the current case.
Photographs released by the Salvadoran government show detainees at CECOT, a maximum-security facility where the men were transferred upon arrival.
The case remains pending as the Supreme Court considers the administration’s request to reinstate deportation authority under the Alien Enemies Act.
