The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, extended its injunction that temporarily bars the Trump administration from removing Venezuelan immigrants from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act proclamation and remanded the case to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to resolve the question of how much time should be afforded for detainees to contest their removals.
The majority said the government did not provide migrants targeted under the wartime authority with enough time or information to contest their cases.
“The detainees’ interests at stake are accordingly particularly weighty. Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster,” the majority wrote in the decision. “But it is not optimal for this Court, far removed from the circumstances on the ground, to determine in the first instance the precise process necessary to satisfy the Constitution in this case.”
The U.S. Supreme Court, May 14, 2025 in Washington.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The order applied to migrants held in Texas. The justices did not reach the question of the lawfulness of the removals under the Alien Enemies Act.
“We recognize the significance of the Government’s national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution. In light of the foregoing, lower courts should address AEA cases expeditiously,” they wrote.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Not long after the court made it’s decision, President Donald Trump issued an all-caps statement on Truth Social blasting the judges.
“THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!” he said.
Trump continued to slam the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Alien Enemies Act in a second post later Friday.
“The Supreme Court has just ruled that the worst murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and even those who are mentally insane, who came into our Country illegally, are not allowed to be forced out without going through a long, protracted, and expensive Legal Process, one that will take, possibly, many years for each person, and one that will allow these people to commit many crimes before they even see the inside of a Courthouse,” he wrote.
Trump claimed that the decision will “let more CRIMINALS pour into our Country” and will do ” great harm to our cherished American public.”
“The Supreme Court of the United States is not allowing me to do what I was elected to do. Sleepy Joe Biden allowed MILLIONS of Criminal Aliens to come into our Country without any ‘PROCESS’ but, in order to get them out of our Country, we have to go through a long and extended PROCESS,” he added. “In any event, thank you to Justice Alito and Justice Thomas for attempting to protect our Country. This is a bad and dangerous day for America!”
Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, told ABC News in a statement on Friday that the Supreme Court “correctly put a pause” on the use of the Alien Enemies Act.
“For now, this means that no more individuals can be hurried away to a brutal foreign prison, perhaps incommunicado for the rest of their lives,” he said.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration asked the court to lift its injunction, arguing that the migrants it intended to deport under the act were dangerous.
The court’s original order came down as a rare overnight ruling in the early hours on Saturday, April 19, and blocked the administration from deporting the Texas migrants.
Notably, the Friday order only prevents the Trump administration from removing the migrants under the Alien Enemies Act proclamation, with the majority opinion stating in its final sentence, “The Government may remove the named plaintiffs or putative class members under other lawful authorities.”
-ABC News’ Laura Romero, Molly Nagle and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.