Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Alien Enemies Act Deportation Effort

Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Alien Enemies Act Deportation Effort

Donald Trump’s push to bring back mass deportations using an 18th-century wartime law just hit a brick wall — and it’s shaped like the Supreme Court.

In a 7–2 decision on Thursday, the justices said a big fat nope to the former president’s attempt to restart deportations under the Alien Enemies Act — a dusty old law from 1798, back when powdered wigs were still a thing.

Trump wanted to use it to fast-track the removal of Venezuelan migrants accused of gang affiliations, especially with the infamous Tren de Aragua, which the government designated a terrorist group earlier this year. But the Court wasn’t buying it.

Here’s the kicker: the administration tried to boot people with just a 24-hour notice. No proper heads-up, no time to fight back in court. Just boom, you’re out.

According to Politico, the justices ruled that the government must give “constitutionally adequate notice” and a real shot at challenging the deportation. Translation: no shady midnight flights out of the country without due process.

One heartbreaking case the Court mentioned? A Maryland man named Kilmar Ábrego García who was wrongly deported to El Salvador — even though he had a court order saying he could stay. Big yikes.

Civil rights groups like the ACLU cheered the decision, calling it a win for basic fairness. “Immigrants have rights too,” they reminded everyone — just in case anyone forgot.

Over on Truth Social, Trump was predictably fuming, accusing the Court of “handcuffing” the government and letting “dangerous criminals” stay in the U.S. But legally, the ball’s now back in the lower courts’ hands to sort out the mess.

So what’s next? The Supreme Court didn’t completely kill the Alien Enemies Act — but if it’s going to be used, it has to be done by the book. And maybe, just maybe, not like a Netflix crime thriller.