In a sharply consequential 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a pivotal victory for President Donald Trump on Monday, authorizing the administration to invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to proceed with the deportation of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members — a Venezuelan criminal enterprise accused of fueling violence across multiple U.S. states.
The ruling dismantles a lower court roadblock issued by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who on March 15 had attempted to halt the administration’s use of the centuries-old wartime law. The justices, however, rejected Boasberg’s temporary restraining orders, clearing the legal path for continued enforcement — at least for now.
At the core of the Supreme Court’s rebuke is a critical point: judicial review under the Alien Enemies Act is narrow and explicitly defined. Referencing the Court’s own precedent in Ludecke v. Watkins (1948), the justices emphasized that challenges to removals under this statute must occur through habeas corpus petitions, not broader civil complaints.
“The statute largely precludes judicial review,” the Court wrote, signaling that federal judges may not intervene outside that narrowly defined channel.
Moreover, the Court didn’t just vacate the injunctions — it addressed what it considered procedural abuse. Specifically, it criticized the legal team for what it characterized as blatant venue shopping.
The plaintiffs, all detained in Texas, had attempted to bring their case before Boasberg in Washington, D.C., a move the Court found entirely unjustifiable. “The detainees are confined in Texas, so venue is improper in the District of Columbia,” the majority stated flatly.
Although the justices acknowledged the detainees' legal team questioned whether the Venezuelan nationals fit the category of “alien enemies” under the 1798 law, they declined to weigh in on that argument — for now. The ruling leaves that battle for another day, reinforcing only that the venue and method for raising such claims must adhere strictly to precedent.
This decision comes at a time when the Trump administration has framed its immigration policy as an urgent matter of national security. The inclusion of the Tren de Aragua gang in enforcement operations has drawn significant attention, given the group’s history of violence, trafficking, and extortion in South America, with increasing signs of expansion into North America.
Strategically, the ruling offers a powerful legal precedent for the administration as it escalates removals under the Alien Enemies Act. It not only underscores the breadth of executive authority under the statute but also signals to lower courts that the Supreme Court is unlikely to tolerate procedural obstruction or speculative interpretations when national security concerns are cited.