In the early hours of this morning, in a mostly unprecedented move and without waiting for the case to take its normal course through the lower courts, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order that temporarily blocks the Trump administration from deporting any Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center, in west-central Texas, under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used 18th-century wartime law that allows for accelerated removal of foreigners deemed a threat by authorities:

“The government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this court.”

Not so surprisingly, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. I guess at this point there should be no expectation from Justices Thomas and Alito to even pretend to be caring about the rule of law and the Constitution. Their only allegiance is to President Trump, and him alone.

Regardless of how much the administration attempts to frame the debates and court cases around the recent deportations to El Salvador as a matter of policy against illegal immigration, this ruling of the SCOTUS makes it clear that it is about respecting the Constitution and upholding the rule of law.

I don’t think any reasonable person in the country, be it from the right, the left, the center, or otherwise independent, would oppose or argue against taking any available legal action against any criminal, immigrant or otherwise, threatening the safety and security of others in the society. But the important part of this sentence is the word legal. In fact, there are already laws in the books that allow for the government to remove immigrants who are unauthorized or commit crimes. And previous administrations have constantly enforced those laws and deported those who were subject to them. In 2024, the Biden administration deported more than 271,000 unauthorized immigrants, more than the number of deportations in any single year during the first Trump administration. And Obama was given the title of “Deporter in Chief,” because of a record number of deportations during his terms in office.

So, the issue at hand is not deportation of unauthorized immigrants, but rather the process, or lack thereof, that is used for such deportations. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution grants the rights for due process, even to criminals and immigrants. Although the exact requirements for such due process may be different between US citizens and immigrants, even criminal unauthorized immigrants have the right to due process, e.g., in the form of advance notice and an opportunity to be heard in front of a judge. No one can be deemed a criminal just because an ICE agent or some administration official claims them to be one. Such determination requires due process through the justice system and finally a court ruling. Even for the small offenses such as a traffic ticket, the police officer is not the ultimate decider of the offense and the punishment, and one has the right to contest the citation and appear in front of a judge and defend their case.

In the current depressing climate for justice and rule of law, this ruling of the Supreme Court is a breath of fresh air. I have previously applauded Justice Amy Coney Barrett for her show of courage and integrity in several cases, by holding the Constitution and laws above her conservative leanings, and siding with the liberal justices against the president who appointed her to the bench, whenever she believed it was necessary. Of course, I still disagree with many of her other opinions, most importantly her joining with the majority in the opinion on absolute immunity of the presidents from criminal prosecution for pretty much any action taken while in office. Although, in all fairness, she even dissented the most outrageous part of that opinion as well. While it is not very easy for me to say this, but credit should be given where it’s due, and in this case, I should say kudos to Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, for showing at least some courage and that, they too, do have a red line that cannot be crossed, even though that red line seems to be quite far from where it should have been.