The Supreme Court Fight Over Trump’s Deportation Power Is Taking Shape

A new filing from the ACLU lays out the central issues in what could be the biggest case of Trump’s early presidency.

Supreme Court

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard from human rights activists opposing the government’s expeditious expulsions of immigrants to a Salvadoran prison, hinting at the broader battle to come over what advocates warned could “quickly become a limitless source of power” for President Donald Trump.

The legal challenge is relatively narrow, as justices consider whether to lift a trial judge’s temporary restraining order forbidding the Trump administration from rapidly rounding up migrants deemed “enemy aliens” without a trial.

But the American Civil Liberties Union’s 44-page filing on Tuesday touched on the actual merits of the case, providing a preview over what could be the most significant constitutional conflict yet of Trump’s second presidency.