A dramatic scene unfolded as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buses carrying Venezuelan detainees were forced to turn around on their way to Abilene Airport in Texas.
According to Daily Mail, the buses, carrying 28 migrants and escorted by 18 law enforcement vehicles, had to return to the Bluebonnet Detention Center after a late-night Supreme Court ruling temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law.
The Supreme Court's 7-2 decision came after urgent appeals from civil rights groups, who warned that authorities had begun accusing detainees of gang affiliations to justify their removal. The ruling specifically prevents the deportation of Venezuelans held in the northern Texas detention facility under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Justice Samuel Alito issued a sharp dissent to the majority decision, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. He criticized the court for acting "literally in the middle of the night" and with "dubious factual support" to block the government's actions.
The administration had invoked the rarely-used Alien Enemies Act, which permits the President to remove citizens of an "enemy nation" deemed dangerous to U.S. safety or involved in treasonous acts. The law has only been used three times in American history, primarily during World Wars I and II.
Trump's legal team later filed paperwork urging the high court to reconsider its hold on the deportations. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed confidence in ultimately prevailing against what she called "meritless litigation brought by radical activists."
Judy Maldonado Rall, whose husband was among those on the bus, shared disturbing information about their intended destination. According to her account, a guard revealed they were headed to El Salvador rather than Venezuela.
The administration had previously sent over 200 suspected gang members to an El Salvadorian prison as part of its immigration crackdown. This policy has faced intense scrutiny amid concerns about mistaken identifications and due process violations.
Some detainees claim they were wrongly associated with gangs simply because of their tattoos. The American Civil Liberties Union filed an emergency motion highlighting these concerns about arbitrary gang affiliations being used to justify deportations.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority, including Trump appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, supported the decision to halt deportations. This marked a significant setback for the administration's aggressive immigration policies.
Judge James Boasberg, who had previously dealt with similar cases, quickly intervened after hearing reports of imminent deportations. He specifically questioned Justice Department lawyers about plans to remove detainees under the Alien Enemies Act.
The administration's earlier attempts to circumvent court orders on deportations likely influenced the urgency of this intervention. In a previous case, planes carrying deportees continued their missions despite Boasberg's ruling to ensure due process.
The attempted deportation of 28 Venezuelan migrants from Texas's Bluebonnet Detention Center was halted by an extraordinary Supreme Court intervention. The late-night ruling specifically blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans from this facility. As legal challenges continue, the administration has vowed to fight the decision while civil rights groups remain vigilant about protecting detainee rights and preventing potentially wrongful deportations.
