Trump scores two big wins in deportation cases with Supreme Court

Donald Trump has been fighting in the courts to keep his immigration agenda intact, and he just got a nice boost from the Supreme Court, albeit temporary.

The Court has dropped a stay and agreed to hear the appeal, but that is just the first hurdle for Trump.

The rulings

Trump was furious when his deportation of 300 alleged gang members was blocked in the courts.

The initial ruling was given by Judge Boasberg, who not only tried to block the deportations, but he also refused to allow Trump to use the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport these people.

When the case went to the appellate court, Trump also lost that decision.

So, the administration made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

Win #1

The first win for the administration was the Supreme Court lifting the stay that was blocking Trump from deporting Venezuelan illegals.

The decision came down 5-4, with Justice Barrett, a Trump appointee, voting with the three liberal members of the Court.

After the ruling came down, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated, "Today's a bad day to be a terrorist in the United States of America. Adding that Trump "was correct in using his authority on using the Alien Enemies Act to deport terrorists out of this country."

That is not necessarily true, however, as the court only blocked the stay while this all plays out, so it is far from over. This ruling will be in place for two weeks while the case is being considered.

Win #2

The second win came when the Court blocked a previous ruling that an illegal immigrant who a lower court had given deportation protections had to be returned to the United States.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported with the group of 300 gang members, but he claims he is a law-abiding citizen and not a gang member, while the Trump administration claims he is an active member of MS-13.

The appellate court has ruled that Garcia needed to be returned to the United States no later than Monday night, but Chief Justice Roberts stayed that order, giving Trump yet another win, but again, this is temporary.

Even though Trump has these wins, the real question at hand is if Trump can use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people even though we are not at war (that is the only time this legislation has been used in the past). The Court will have to decide if the situation at the border constitutes a war-time “invasion,” and I just don’t see five members agreeing to that. I could be wrong, but I think this will be a short-lived win for Trump and his administration.