Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
On Monday, the US Supreme Court agreed to overturn a ruling that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador.
All nine justices agreed that due process required the government to properly notify migrants that it intended to deport them under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
However, Chief Justice John Roberts and four of the court’s other Republican appointees vacated the lower court’s earlier decision, writing that the migrants and their attorneys filed their case in the wrong jurisdiction.
For at least the time it takes to refile the lawsuit and for it to make its way back through federal courts, the administration is free to restart deporting Venezuelans.
In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned the passivity of the court majority leaves both citizens and non-citizens vulnerable to the overreach of the Trump administration.
Sotomayor was joined by the two other Democratic appointees and, in part, by the conservative Amy Coney Barrett.
Photo credit: El Salvador presidential press office via AP
