Supreme Court Sides With Donald Trump in Deportation Fight

(Newsweek)-The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling allowing the Trump administration to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people from the U.S. but said they must get a court hearing before deportation.

The Context

President Donald Trump has been in the spotlight as his administration seeks to deport millions of people as part of a federal crackdown on illegal immigration.

That fight took center stage last month after the government deported more than 200 Venezuelan nationals, who the U.S. alleges have ties to the violent Tren de Aragua gang.

What To Know

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s emergency request and overturned a lower court ruling that had temporarily halted deportations under the Alien Enemies Act while legal challenges proceeded.

The majority decision said, however, that detainees must still be given an “opportunity” to present their case to a judge before being removed from the U.S.

The temporary order came hours after a Justice Department emergency appeal to the Supreme Court argued that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis overstepped her authority when she ordered that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was deported to El Salvador last month, be returned to the United States.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has conceded that Abrego Garcia should not have been sent to El Salvador because an immigration judge found he likely would face persecution by local gangs.

In her ruling saying he should be returned to the U.S., Xinis characterised the DOJ’s decision as a “grievous error,” adding that it “shocks the conscience.”