U.S. President Donald Trump said the Supreme Court’s ruling against the Alien Enemies Act, which allowed for accelerated deportations of migrants, will cause “more criminals to enter” the country and cause “great harm” to “our cherished American people.”
“The Supreme Court has just ruled that the worst murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and even those who are mentally insane, who came into our country illegally, are not allowed to be forced out without going through a long, protracted, and expensive legal process,” the U.S. president asserted on his Truth Social account.
Judges ruled Friday, May 17, that those facing deportation proceedings should be given more time to defend themselves against expulsion notices than required by 18th-century legislation, a law the Trump administration has used to expressly deport Venezuelan migrants associated with the Tren de Aragua criminal organisation.
The U.S. leader also stated that the Supreme Court justices are not allowing him to “do what he was elected to do” and referred to the “sleepy” Joe Biden as the one who “allowed millions of criminal aliens to enter” the country “without any due process,” meaning their removal must now involve a “long and protracted” process.
He also thanked Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, conservative judges who opposed the court’s ruling, for “trying to protect our country.”
“This is a bad and dangerous day for America!” concluded Donald Trump’s message.
Since returning to power in January, Trump has struck down many of the court rulings issued to halt some of his executive orders on various issues. But he hoped the Supreme Court, composed of nine justices, three of whom are progressive, wouldn’t turn its back on him.
The top justices ruled that “a notification approximately 24 hours before expulsion, lacking information on how to exercise due process rights (…) does not meet the requirements.”
Still, they consider it “too removed from the circumstances on the ground” and returned the case to the Fifth Circuit, an appeals court, to determine whether the use of the Alien Enemies Act is lawful and to establish the conditions under which migrants can challenge their deportation in court.
“To be clear, we decide today only that the detainees are entitled to more notice than was given on April 18, and we grant temporary injunctive relief to preserve our jurisdiction while the question of what notice is due is adjudicated,” they emphasised.
The justices also reiterated that in the event of a “mistake,” as with Salvadoran Kilmar Ábrego García, who was sent to El Salvador in March with the Venezuelans, the administration asserts that it “cannot guarantee his return.”
They asked lower courts to address the case urgently because they recognise “the importance of the government’s national security interests” and, at the same time, the need for them to “be promoted in accordance with the Constitution.”
Since January, Trump has sent troops to the border with Mexico and imposed tariffs on both Mexico and Canada for allegedly not doing enough to stop illegal migrant crossings. In addition to the Tren de Aragua, his administration has designated several Mexican cartels and the MS-13 gang as foreign “terrorist” organisations.