DJT Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Use Alien Enemies Act to Deport Immigrants

Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to lift an order by a federal District Court, which was upheld on appeal and temporarily prevents him from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport or expel immigrants without going through normal due process.

Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 on 15 March 2025. He used it to ship more than 260 Venezuelans to the CECOT prison in El Salvador. Although they were accused of being members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, details of some cases have emerged since then showing that the flights included people with clean records and paperwork for being in the USA, and no evidence of association with the gang. Even if they were in the gang, the AEA only applies during a declared war or when the USA is being invaded by a foreign power.

District Court Judge James Boasberg has extended his order to do more than block such expulsions while the court is considering questions of legality. He has also ordered the government to hold “individualized hearings” for each immigrant accused of being associated with Tren de Aragua.

After Boasberg extended his temporary restraining order, the ACLU filed a motion to request a preliminary injunction. The TRO extension allows time for a more lasting and appealable preliminary injunction to be put in place.

The government wants the Supreme Court to lift all of this and allow it to ship immigrants to any other country without due process.

The ACLU obtained a copy of a checklist used by ICE to decide whether to declare a Venezuelan as an Alien Enemy. It is a points system in which 8 or more points based on an agent’s opinions of such things as tattoos is enough to detain a Venezuelan.

Click here for more details.

Click here for more about the ICE checklist.

Click here for more about the ACLU’s lengthy filing to request an injunction.