The Gap in the Supreme Court’s Decision on Trump’s ‘Alien Enemies’ Deportation Flights

It’s unclear how successful defendants can possibly be in challenging their rapid deportations.

El Salvador presidential press office photo of migrants in prison.

In this photo provided by El Salvador’s presidential press office, prison guards transfer deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. AP

The Trump administration’s win at the Supreme Court this week over its deportation program for “alien enemies” came with a significant caveat: The justices ruled that migrants snatched by government security forces must have a chance to contest their deportations to a foreign prison.

But how that will actually work in practice is uncertain, with some lawyers telling NOTUS an effective government challenge may be “virtually impossible.”

On Monday, the nation’s high court allowed the government to immediately resume its forced removals of migrants to El Salvador’s dreaded Terror Confinement Center, but carved out a requirement that immigration agents allow prisoners to challenge their detainment.