The Supreme Court on Friday said that the Trump administration will not be permitted to deport a group of Venezuelan detainees accused of being members of a violent gang under an obscure wartime law. Trump reacted to it and said the SC wont allow them to deport “criminals out of the country”.

It stated they were not being given adequate time to legally challenge their removal.

Trump, who campaigned for the presidential election vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants, reacted to the court directive, stating, “”THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!”

The 7-2 decision by the apex court is another blow to President Donald Trump’s attempts to quickly expel alleged Tren de Aragua gang members using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA), which was last put in effect to round up Japanese-Americans during World War II, in March to deport a first group of alleged Tren de Aragua members to a notorious prison in El Salvador unjustly.

Attorneys representing numerous of the deported Venezuelans have stated their clients were not Tren de Aragua members, had done no crimes and were targeted mainly on the basis of their tattoos.

On April 19, the Supreme Court stepped in on to temporarily halt further deportations of undocumented Venezuelan migrants, mentioning they must be afforded fair procedure.

What did the justices say in the Friday order?

In Friday’s unsigned order, the court halted plans to deport another group of detainees placed in Texas, stating they were not being given enough time to mount a meaningful legal contest to their removal.

“Notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster,” AFP quoted the justices as saying.

Conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito disagreed.

The justices also observed that a Salvadoran man had been deported to El Salvador “in error” besides the alleged Tren de Aragua members in March and the Trump administration has alleged “it is unable to provide for (his) return.”

While emphasising they were not deciding whether Trump could legally use the AEA to deport undocumented migrants, the justices asked a lower court to “expeditiously” assess the question.

“To be clear, we decide today only that the detainees are entitled to more notice than was given. We did not on April 19 — and do not now — address the underlying merits of the parties’ claims regarding the legality of removals under the AEA. We recognize the significance of the Government’s national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution,” they stated.

Three federal district court judges have decided that Trump’s use of the AEA to conduct deportations was unconstitutional, whereas one district court judge, a Trump appointee, ruled that it was permissible.

The US President, while invoking AEA, asserted Tren de Aragua was engaged in “hostile actions” and “threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States.”

Since assuming office, Trump has sent troops to the Mexican border, imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for allegedly not doing adequate to cease illegal crossings, and designated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as terrorist groups.