ACLU of Texas Comments on Supreme Court Ruling in Alien Enemies Act Case
May 16, 2025 4:30 pm
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to remove Venezuelans being detained in northern Texas and held that the government must provide “constitutionally adequate notice” before removal, so that individuals have an opportunity to go to federal court.
The court temporarily halted those removals in April, and today’s decision keeps that block in place for the district-wide class while the case goes back to the intermediate appellate court.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Fifth Circuit erred in dismissing the detainees’ appeal for lack of jurisdiction given the imminent threat of severe, irreparable harm. The court also reaffirmed those being held are entitled to due process and more notice than was given to them when they were nearly deported in mid-April.
The case will now proceed before the Fifth Circuit on whether those being detained are likely to succeed in their claims that the Alien Enemies Act does not authorize their removals and what notice is due.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas. The ACLU is challenging President Trump’s invocation of the centuries-old wartime act in peacetime as the administration attempts to unlawfully deport people to an infamous overseas prison without due process.
The following are reactions to today’s Supreme Court ruling:
“We welcome the Supreme Court's decision because it underscores that immigrants are accorded due process and that it must be meaningful. The federal government's flimsy excuse for process fails to recognize the importance of the rights at stake. This is not only a win for immigrant communities, it is a win for all Texans,” said Adriana Piñon (she/her), legal director of the ACLU of Texas.
“The court’s decision to stay removals is a powerful rebuke to the government’s attempt to hurry people away to a Gulag-type prison in El Salvador. The use of a wartime authority during peacetime, without even affording due process, raises issues of profound importance,” said Lee Gelernt (he/him), deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead counsel.
Access the ruling here: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1007_g2bh.pdf
Access the case background here: www.aclu.org/cases/wmm-v-trump
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