ACLU Rushes to Supreme Court in Bid to Halt Venezuelan Deportations Amid Legal Firestorm

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) made a late-night dash to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, seeking an emergency injunction to stop the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan nationals held in Texas under the rarely invoked Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled that the government faces restrictions when using this centuries-old law, notably requiring that anyone targeted for deportation under it must first be granted a hearing. Despite this, the ACLU found itself scrambling, having already requested two federal judges to block the deportations earlier on Friday.

Judge James E. Boasberg, who has history with the Alien Enemies Act, scheduled an emergency hearing that evening. Showing both a sense of urgency and frustration, Boasberg reportedly told ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, "I’m sympathetic to everything you’re saying, I just don’t think I have the power to do anything about it." Now that’s a real-life legal shrug if I’ve ever seen one.

Meanwhile, another D.C.-based circuit judge stepped in with an "administrative stay" on Boasberg's earlier contempt finding against the Trump administration, buying the court more time to weigh the emergency motion, but stressing the order was not a decision on the underlying merits.

Elsewhere, judges in Colorado, New York, and South Texas have temporarily stopped deportations in their respective areas. However, there’s no such ban in place for Venezuelans detained at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in northern Texas – which remains the eye of this legal hurricane.

The ACLU specifically called for a halt to deporting two Venezuelan men at Bluebonnet, whom the administration accuses of being linked to the Tren de Aragua gang—an allegation that’s as dramatic as it sounds. The group is also pressing to protect other immigrants detained in the region.

Adding another legal twist, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected an attempt by the Trump administration to strip around 350,000 Venezuelan migrants of their Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS grants people from unstable or dangerous countries the right to stay in the U.S., and the court upheld a previous ruling that blocks Homeland Security from removing that protection for some Venezuelans.

President Trump also weighed in on a separate deportation drama, referencing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was mistakenly deported last month despite having legal protections. Trump used social media to claim Democrats want him back because he’s "such ‘a fine and innocent person,’" while highlighting a photo of Garcia’s MS-13 tattoos. Trump’s post left little question about where he stands, declaring his intention to "take bad people out of the United States" and reviving the classic "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" sign-off.

The legal wrangling over these deportations is far from settled, with multiple courts, judges, and policies colliding in real time. For now, the fate of Venezuelan detainees in Texas hangs in the balance, as the country watches to see if the Supreme Court will step in to referee this high-stakes immigration showdown.