US Supreme Court judge slams ‘legally questionable’ midnight intervention blocking Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act for deportation

WASHINGTON — A US Supreme Court judge criticised a dramatic night-time intervention by the court yesterday to block President Donald Trump’s use of an obscure law to deport Venezuelan migrants without due process.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito called the emergency ruling “rushed” and “legally questionable” in statement published hours after he dissented from the order.

The country’s highest judicial body passed the order early yesterday to stop what rights groups warned were imminent deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members.

The court decision temporarily prevents the government from continuing to expel migrants under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) — last used to round up Japanese-American citizens during World War II.

Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, who were the only justices dissenting yesterday, are two of the most conservative members on the nine-member panel.