Venezuelan migrants were set for deportation without judicial review, lawyers tell US Supreme Court

Source: Reuters

April 21, 2025 7:21 PM EDT Updated an hour ago


WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration was prepared to carry out deportations of dozens of Venezuelan migrants detained in Texas under a 1798 law historically used only during wartime without judicial review and contrary to the U.S. Supreme Court's prior orders, lawyers told the justices Monday. American Civil Liberties Union attorneys representing the migrants urged the Supreme Court in a written filing to maintain its block on the deportations to a prison in El Salvador.

The ACLU filing said that administration officials had not provided the migrants the required notice or opportunity to contest the removals before many were loaded on buses headed to the airport. The filing is the latest development in a high-profile legal battle involving the Republican president's immigration crackdown that has raised questions about his administration's willingness to comply with limits set by the top U.S. judicial body.

"Whatever due process may require in this context, it does not allow removing a person to a possible life sentence without trial, in a prison known for torture and other abuse, a mere 24 hours after providing an English-only notice form (not provided to any attorney) that gives no information about the person's right to seek judicial review, much less the process or timeline for doing so," the ACLU's filing stated.

The U.S. government has accused the migrants of being members of Tren de Aragua, a criminal gang originating in Venezuelan prisons that he Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist group. Trump has invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act in a bid to swiftly deport them. The law authorizes the president to deport, detain or place restrictions on individuals whose primary allegiance is to a foreign power and who might pose a national security risk in wartime. The nine-member Supreme Court early on Saturday temporarily barred the administration from deporting the migrants, acting swiftly in a case in which the lawyers for the migrants had warned of imminent removals.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/venezuelan-migrants-were-set-deportation-without-judicial-review-lawyers-tell-us-2025-04-21/