US Supreme Court vacates District Court pausing deportation to El Salvador – JURIST
The US Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion in Trump v. J.G.G. on Monday, focusing on the procedural posture of a case involving the detention and deportation of Venezuelan nationals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The decision grants the government’s application to vacate the orders of the DC District Court, reasoning that the detainees had not brought their challenge to the proper venue.
The court emphasized that although the Alien Enemies Act grants the president significant authority, it does not foreclose judicial review. The Fifth Amendment says that even aliens are entitled to due process. However, the court held that such challenges must be brought through a habeas corpus petition in the proper jurisdiction.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurring opinion emphasizing that the case turns on where judicial review should occur, not whether it should occur. He affirmed that habeas corpus remains the appropriate legal avenue for individuals seeking to contest their detention under the Act.
In dissent, Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson, and Barrett raised concerns about the executive’s process. They argued that President Trump has failed to fulfill his statutory obligation to notify Congress before invoking the Alien Enemies Act. The dissenting justices also object to the broad and immediate labeling of the detainees as Tren de Aragua members without giving them a fair opportunity to challenge their classification.
The court’s order did not speak on the underlying merits of the case. Instead, the justices focused entirely on the procedural question of whether the District Court’s orders were issued in the appropriate forum and according to the proper legal standards.
The case arose after President Trump, through Proclamation No. 10903, invoked the Alien Enemies Act, which is a wartime provision that empowers the president to detain or deport noncitizens from nations deemed hostile. This proclamation specifically targeted Venezuelan nationals identified as members of Tren de Aragua, a group that is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department.
As the case returns to the lower courts, it remains to be seen how the substantive claims regarding constitutional protections and executive authority under the Alien Enemies Act will ultimately be resolved.
