Midnight Ruling: The Supreme Court's Swift Action on Venezuelan Deportations

The Supreme Court made a sudden decision late one night. It stopped the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelans held in Texas. This move was unusual and happened quickly. Justice Samuel Alito was not happy about it. He wrote a strong disagreement. He said the court acted too fast and without enough information. Alito was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. They both thought the court did not have enough facts to make this decision. The court's order came early on a Saturday morning. It did not explain much, which is not typical. The court had said before that deportations could only happen after people had a chance to argue in court. Alito thought the court's action was too hasty. He said the court did not hear from the government's side. The court did not even know if it had the right to make this decision at that moment. Alito pointed out that the court only had papers from the people asking for the stop. The government had not responded yet. The court's order told the administration not to deport Venezuelans in the Bluebonnet Detention Center. Alito believed this was a big and unusual step. He thought the court should have let lower courts decide first. The administration had already asked the high court to reconsider its decision. Before the Supreme Court stepped in, two federal judges and a circuit court had refused to stop the deportations. The ACLU had sued to block these deportations. They said immigration authorities were accusing Venezuelans of being in a gang. This would make them subject to a old law from 1798. The law has only been used a few times in U. S. history. The law was last used during World War II to hold Japanese-American civilians. The administration said it gives them the power to quickly remove immigrants they think are in a gang. After the Supreme Court's order, federal judges in other states issued orders to stop removals. But this did not happen in the area covering Bluebonnet, Texas. Some Venezuelans have already been sent to El Salvador and put in a notorious prison there.