WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - In a win for the Trump administration the Supreme Court says the White House can continue using a wartime powers law to deport suspected Venezuelan gang members however, those suspects must also be given due process.
It was a split decision by the court, which may ultimately change very little in how the White House keeps using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the White House is within its authority to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected South American gang members.
However, the court said anyone the government suspects of being a gang member must first get a court hearing before they’re removed from the U.S.
Those court hearings must also be heard in Texas, according to the Supreme Court, as that’s where the suspected gang members are held.
In all likelihood, those hearings would happen before a judge in one of the country’s most conservative districts, raising the chance the administration’s deportation efforts won’t be significantly slowed.
The use of the Alien Enemies Act has come under legal challenge and the White House has admitted at least some of the suspected gang members who were already deported to a notorious El Salvadoran prison had no criminal records in the U.S.
The court's action appears to bar the White House from immediately resuming the deportation flights.
The ACLU, which filed the lawsuit, claimed victory saying the court showed everyone is guaranteed due process.
President Trump also claimed the decision as a win calling it a great day for justice in America.
The courts three liberal justices all dissented in their decision and were joined by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
