The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling allowing the Trump administration to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people from the U.S. but said they must get a court hearing before deportation.

The Context

President Donald Trump has been in the spotlight as his administration seeks to deport millions of people as part of a federal crackdown on illegal immigration.

That fight took center stage last month after the government deported more than 200 Venezuelan nationals, who the U.S. alleges have ties to the violent Tren de Aragua gang.

What To Know

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s emergency request and overturned a lower court ruling that had temporarily halted deportations under the Alien Enemies Act while legal challenges proceeded.

The majority decision said, however, that detainees must still be given an “opportunity” to present their case to a judge before being removed from the U.S.

The temporary order came hours after a Justice Department emergency appeal to the Supreme Court argued that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis overstepped her authority when she ordered that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was deported to El Salvador last month, be returned to the United States.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has conceded that Abrego Garcia should not have been sent to El Salvador because an immigration judge found he likely would face persecution by local gangs.

In her ruling saying he should be returned to the U.S., Xinis characterized the DOJ’s decision as a “grievous error,” adding that it “shocks the conscience.”

What People Are Saying

The Supreme Court said in its unsigned majority opinion: “AEA detainees must receive notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act. The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs.”

Trump wrote on Truth Social after the ruling: “The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders, and protect our families and our Country, itself. A GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissenting opinion: “The Government’s conduct in this litigation poses an extraordinary threat to the rule of law. We, as a Nation and a court of law, should be better than this.”

Reporting by the Associated Press contributed to this article.