SCOTUS blocks deportation of Venezuelans to Texas
(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - The Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration not to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to Texas.
Administration officials have sought to deport these alleged gang members under a wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act.
On Saturday, the Supreme Court did not grant or deny an application filed by lawyers for the detainees, but effectively hit pause on the case, which affects people currently held within the jurisdiction of the Northern District of Texas.
The order states, in part, that no deportations should occur "until further order of this court."
It comes comes after lawyers defending the detainees asked several federal courts for emergency orders to prevent deportations to a Salvadoran mega prison, the same prison where Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was sent last month in a separate immigration case also being challenged in court.
The Supreme Court action follows an April 7 decision in which the court made it clear that any people the government wants to deport under the Alien Enemies Act need to be given the chance to challenge the decision via habeas corpus petitions.
