The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5–4 in favor of the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport suspected members of Tren de Aragua (TDA), a violent transnational gang. The decision marks a historic application of the centuries-old wartime law and clears the way for immediate deportations of foreign nationals tied to criminal activity.
The ruling lifts a lower court’s injunction that had blocked deportations under the act, allowing the administration to resume flights to a high-security terrorism confinement center in El Salvador. More than 200 individuals have already been transferred.
The majority opinion was supported by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
This is the first time the Supreme Court has ruled on the Alien Enemies Act in the context of gang-related removals. The administration says the decision is critical to protecting national security and enforcing immigration law, particularly as border encounters involving criminal organizations continue to rise.