There they go again...there seems to be something about the Supreme Court and abrupt Friday rulings regarding the Trump administration's deportation efforts. In an eight-page per curiam order issued Friday afternoon, the high court vacated the 5th Circuit's decision (dismissing the appeal of petitioner-detainees) and sent the case back to the 5th Circuit for further review of their appeal. 

In doing so, the court reiterated that detainees subject to removal under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) are entitled to proper notice and, without specifying what that notice should be, affirmed that "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."

This is going to be a rather tortured procedural history to lay out here, but before I do, I want to make several points: 

• The Supreme Court is not prohibiting the removal of illegal alien Tren de Aragua (TdA) members under the AEA. 
• It is not (yet) weighing in on the merits of the proclamation issued by President Donald Trump and AEA removal. 
• It is saying that those who may be subject to removal pursuant to the AEA and proclamation are entitled to due process, consisting of some degree of notice more than 24 hours prior to removal.
• And it is also very clearly saying that "The Government may remove the named plaintiffs or putative class members under other lawful authorities" (e.g., the Immigration Nationality Act (INA)). 
• And mostly what it is saying is that it's temporarily pressing pause so that everyone can take a breath and no one gets erroneously shipped off to prison in El Salvador because everyone was in a mad scramble over it. 

All of the above said, this is a loss for the Trump administration — but it's a temporary one, and one that may not matter tremendously in the whole scheme of things. Nevertheless, Justice Samuel Alito has authored a dissent (in which Justice Clarence Thomas has joined). And Justice Brett Kavanaugh has authored a concurrence. 

READ MORE: Supreme Court Halts Deportations Under the Alien Enemies Act

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Here's the back story: 

• The case was initially filed last April 16, 2025, in the Northern District of Texas, with the pseudonymous A.A.R.P. and W.M.M. — "Venezuelan men in immigration custody at risk of imminent removal under the President’s Proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act ('AEA') — seeking habeas relief from the court (with the assistance of their ACLU attorneys) and also seeking to have a class action certified. 
• District Court Judge James Hendrix denied their motion for TRO on Thursday, and on Friday, set a briefing schedule on the class certification issue. 
• The petitioners requested an emergency status conference and, when the court didn't act quickly enough for their liking, appealed the case to the 5th Circuit — which promptly divested the district court of jurisdiction, so Judge Hendrix vacated his earlier order regarding the briefing schedule. 
• While the 5th Circuit was reviewing the matter, the petitioners filed an "emergency application" for an "emergency injunction" with the Supreme Court, which promptly turned around and entered a ridiculously bizarre order effectively placing a hold on any further deportation efforts under the AEA. 
• Justice Samuel Alito then let the court have it with his (100 percent correct) dissent as to the court's order. 
• The 5th Circuit then denied the petitioners' motion for a temporary administrative stay and an injunction pending the appeal as premature and dismissed the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, sending the case back to the district court. 
• Meanwhile, the AARP (the non-profit advocacy organization for retired persons) moved to intervene in the case and have the style of it changed to avoid confusion, so Judge Hendrix amended his prior order re: pseudonyms to downsize "A.A.R.P." to "A.R.P." and re-style the case so that it will now proceed under W.M.M.'s name. 
• The Trump administration and the petitioners further briefed the issue to the Supreme Court, which now has issued the order handed down Friday afternoon. 

That's a lot to digest, but I'll just close with this: I'm not enthralled with Friday's ruling (and will spend some more time reviewing/analyzing it as soon as I have a chance) BUT it's not the end of the world, or even the end of the case. 

Editor's Note: Partisan federal judges are hijacking President Trump's agenda and insulting the will of the people

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