Justice Alito Shreds SCOTUS Colleagues for ‘Legally Questionable’ Ruling in Deportation Case — While Also Warning That Trump Must Follow It
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito denounced the decision handed down by his colleagues which blocked the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelan migrants under the Alien Enemies Act.
The Court, by a 7-2 margin, ruled against the Trump administration in the wee hours on Saturday — preventing the Trump administration from deporting a group of immigrants in Texas under the terms of the Alien Enemies Act. The Court ruled that the Alien Enemies Act — a 1798 law giving the executive wartime authority to expel immigrants without a court hearing — is not sufficient ground for the administration to carry out the deportations, at least for the time being.
In a scathing, five-page minority opinion, Alito — one of the two Justices who opposed the ruling, along with Justice Clarence Thomas — tore into his colleagues for handing down a decision he considers to be “legally questionable.”
“In sum, literally in the middle of the night, the Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief without
giving the lower courts a chance to rule, without hearing from the opposing party, within eight hours of receiving the
application, with dubious factual support for its order, and without providing any explanation for its order,” Alito said. “I refused to join the Court’s order because we had no good reason to think that, under the circumstances, issuing an order at midnight was necessary or appropriate.”
Still, Alito seemed to issue a warning to President Donald Trump not to defy the Court’s ruling.
“Both the Executive and the Judiciary have an obligation to follow the law,” Alito wrote. “The Executive must proceed under the terms of our order … and this Court should follow established procedures.”
Last week, the Court found 9-0 that the Trump administration must “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador. Critics have denounced the Trump administration’s efforts — or lack thereof — in trying to get Garcia back.
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