Supreme Court lifts orders blocking Trump from deporting Venezuelans under Alien Enemies Act

If you had any hope that the Supreme Court was going to restrain the unlawful actions of the Trump administration, this should pretty much dash that hope. The Court vacates the temporary restraining orders that Judge Boasberg put into place, and says that the only remedy available to the putative Venezuelan gang members is to file a habeas claim in Texas, where they are held before being put on to planes. At least the Court does say they have to be given notice of this right and time to file. But crucially, they don’t challenge the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act itself, or the definition of enemies that Trump and his minions made up. This is a huge, huge blow to civil rights, and bodes ill for other cases that are making their way to the Supreme Court right now.

The actual opinion is here, if you want to read it. It’s depressing. The dissents (from the women on the court, of course) are worth reading.