Justice Alito Dissent Highlights Tensions Over Venezuelan Deportations
Justice Samuel Alito issued a strongly-worded dissent against the Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily halt the deportation of Venezuelan migrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
In a move that has sparked significant debate, the Supreme Court issued an order early Saturday morning to block the deportation of Venezuelan migrants currently held in Texas’ Bluebonnet Detention Center. The decision, which also received the support of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, advises the White House to refrain from deporting these individuals until further notice from the court. Justice Samuel Alito, however, expressed strong disapproval of the timing and nature of the court’s decision in his dissent, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Alito criticized the Supreme Court’s decision as being issued ’literally in the middle of the night,’ and without adequate legal justification or opportunity for lower courts to rule. He argued that the court’s action was unprecedented and lacked procedural fairness, stating, ‘We had no good reason to think that, under the circumstances, issuing an order at midnight was necessary or appropriate.’ Alito’s dissent underscores ongoing tensions between judicial and executive branches regarding immigration policies.
The Trump administration, in response, filed an opposition to the Supreme Court’s order, asserting that they had provided sufficient advance notice to detainees for filing habeas claims. The administration’s lawyers urged the court to dissolve the administrative stay and allow lower courts to handle the matter. This comes after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed an emergency appeal, claiming that federal immigration authorities had resumed deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law historically used sparingly.
The controversy surrounding the use of the Alien Enemies Act and the timing of the Supreme Court’s decision continues to fuel national debates over immigration policy and the balance of power between branches of government.