“Won’t allow us to get criminals out!”: Trump furious over Supreme Court ruling on deportations

President Trump was furious after the Supreme Court temporarily stopped his administration from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants held in northern Texas. This decision is a major setback for the administration’s attempts to speed up deportations while avoiding legal review processes.

As reported by CNN, the Supreme Court stepped in when the administration deported more than 100 Venezuelans to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) after the order was issued. This move led to lawsuits. While an earlier Supreme Court decision had allowed deportations under the Act, it also said that people facing deportation must have the chance for a court review.

President Trump responded to the Supreme Court’s decision quickly and with strong criticism. He posted on social media (found by CBS News), complaining that the court “WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!” This statement matches the administration’s overall position and highlights how urgently they want to carry out these deportations. The long-term effects of the Supreme Court’s decision and the ongoing legal battles in lower courts are still unclear.

Trump mad over not being able to deport

The administration’s legal argument for the deportations came from a presidential order issued in March that relied on the Alien Enemies Act. This very old law, which had only been used three times before during wars, labeled Venezuelan citizens aged 14 and older who were suspected of being linked to the Tren de Aragua gang as “alien enemies” who could be arrested and deported immediately. The President claimed these individuals were a threat to the United States.

This isn’t the first time the Supreme Court reviewed Trump’s order; it’s even going over the citizenship ban. The Court also blocked the order to reinstate federal employees.

Lower courts temporarily stopped deportations in several areas, including one in Southern Texas that completely blocked the use of the Act in its region on May 1. The case the Supreme Court reviewed involved Venezuelan migrants held at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, who were given very short notice before being scheduled for deportation under the Alien Enemies Act.

The ACLU, which was representing the migrants, argued that these rushed notices broke the Supreme Court’s earlier rule requiring enough time for detainees to file legal challenges against their removal. They also pointed out the dangerous conditions in the Salvadoran prison where some deportees were sent, stressing that the migrants could face serious and permanent harm.

The Supreme Court’s unsigned decision overturned the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ rejection of the detainees’ appeal and sent the case back for further review. The Court ruled that the migrants were not given enough notice to fight their deportations, especially since the administration planned to deport them within about 24 hours.

While the order did not directly rule on whether using the Alien Enemies Act for these deportations was legal, it told lower courts to handle such cases quickly and mentioned that the government could use “other lawful authorities” to carry out deportations. The Court also criticized the District Court for not acting sooner, which allowed the immediate risk of deportation to continue.

Justices Alito and Thomas disagreed with the decision, saying the Supreme Court did not have the power to intervene at this stage. Justice Kavanaugh agreed with the ruling but said the Supreme Court should have settled the main legal questions immediately instead of sending the case back to lower courts.