Justice Samuel Alito wrote a fiery dissent against a recent Supreme Court move to halt President Donald Trump’s deportations of Venezuelan criminals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
The decision, which was issued early Saturday morning, effectively blocks the deportations of Venezuelan migrants under the 18th century law. In a decision that was also signed off on by conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, the court advised the White House not to remove Venezuelans held in Texas’ Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.”
Alito disapproved of the timing of the decision, which he described as being “literally in the middle of the night.”
“[T]he Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief without giving the lower courts a chance to rule, without hearing from the opposing party, within eight hours of receiving the application, with dubious factual support for its order, and without providing any explanation for its order,” Alito wrote.
The justice, who has served on the court since 2006, was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas in his dissent.
“I refused to join the Court’s order because we had no good reason to think that, under the circumstances, issuing an order at midnight was necessary or appropriate,” Alito continued.
“Both the Executive and the Judiciary have an obligation to follow the law. The Executive must proceed under the terms of our order in Trump v. J. G. G., 604 U. S. ___ (2025) (per curiam), and this Court should follow established procedures.”
Later on Saturday, counsel representing the Trump administration filed an opposition to the order. The lawyers said that the federal government gave advance notice to detainees before their deportations, allowing enough time to file habeas claims.
“The government has agreed not to remove, pursuant the AEA, those AEA detainees who do file habeas claims (including the putative class representatives),” the filing states.
“This Court should dissolve its current administrative stay and allow the lower courts to address the relevant legal and factual questions in the first instance — including the development of a proper factual record.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) previously filed an emergency appeal arguing that federal immigration authorities appeared to have resumed the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The Supreme Court previously allowed the White House to continue the deportations in a limited capacity, as long as due process was provided.
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing, has only been invoked a few times in U.S. history, most recently being during World War II.
