Midnight Supreme Court Order Halts Trump-Era Deportations of Venezuelans, Alito Slams Ruling as “Unprecedented”

In a dramatic late-night intervention, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan detainees held in northern Texas under a centuries-old wartime law, drawing a sharp dissent from Justice Samuel Alito.

The brief order—issued “literally in the middle of the night,” according to Alito—came without detailed explanation, as is standard in emergency cases. The court ordered the administration not to deport the individuals held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court,” a move requested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) amid rising concerns that Venezuelan detainees were being rapidly deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

The Alien Enemies Act, rarely invoked in modern U.S. history, has previously been used only three times—most notably to detain Japanese-Americans during World War II. The Trump administration is now using the law to swiftly remove Venezuelans it accuses of being affiliated with the Tren de Aragua, a transnational gang.

Justice Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, issued a fierce dissent calling the court’s intervention “hastily and prematurely granted.” He criticised the majority for acting without hearing from the federal government and noted the lack of full legal review by lower courts.

“In sum, literally in the middle of the night, the Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief… without providing any explanation,” Alito wrote. “Both the Executive and the Judiciary have an obligation to follow the law.”

Alito also questioned the urgency claimed by the ACLU, noting that no concrete evidence had been presented to show that deportations were set to take place immediately. In a separate case, a government lawyer had reportedly told a District Court judge that no removals were planned for that Friday or Saturday.

Despite that, the ACLU warned in its emergency petition that several Venezuelan men were at risk, and immigration officers were allegedly preparing removals under the pretext of gang affiliation—an accusation denied by the detainees and questioned by legal advocates.

The Supreme Court’s intervention followed failed attempts by two federal judges and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to halt the deportations earlier that day.

Following the high court’s order on April 9, federal judges in other regions—including Colorado, New York, and southern Texas—issued their own injunctions to protect Venezuelans from deportation until due legal processes were guaranteed. However, no such protections had been put in place in the district covering the Bluebonnet Detention Center in northern Texas, creating a legal vacuum for detainees there.

Some of those affected by Trump’s order have already been sent to El Salvador and are reportedly being held in the country’s infamous high-security prison.

The Supreme Court’s order remains temporary while legal proceedings continue. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has yet to comment on how it plans to handle Trump’s use of the 1798 law in current deportation policies. The Department of Justice has asked the court to reconsider the hold.

The ruling has revived discussions about the scope of emergency powers, the limits of executive authority, and the use of historical wartime laws in today’s immigration enforcement.