On Friday, NEW YORK, CMC—Caribbean immigrant advocates expressed cautious optimism about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision to retain the temporary deportation block under the Alien Enemies Act.
The Alien Enemies Act is a US law passed in 1798. It grants the President of the United States wartime authority to detain, arrest, or deport non-citizens of enemy countries. President Donald Trump has invoked the Act to deport Caribbean and other nationals.
“Thousands of immigrants who have been wrongfully accused of being gang members and detained in horrendous facilities without any due process are cautiously optimistic as a result of today’s SCOTUS decision,” Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
“We have already seen too many New Yorkers sent to El Salvador without any due process, and the Trump administration shows no interest in returning even those who have been proven innocent of the charges. History will not look kindly on this moment in time, as the Trump administration resurrected the Alien Enemies Act to make it easier to achieve its mass deportation agenda.
“No one is safe when authoritarianism disguises itself as ‘law and order’. History has branded moments like these in shame—and it warns us that once the government seizes unchecked authority, it never stops at its first target,” Awawdeh continued.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court justices also sent the case back to the federal appeals court, which they directed to examine claims by detained people that they could not be legally deported under the Alien Enemies Act.
The justices called for the lower court to consider how much notice the government should be required to provide to ensure the accused have an opportunity to challenge their deportations.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has strongly condemned Trump’s invocation of the 227-year-old wartime law, known as the Alien Enemies Act, to deport Caribbean and other immigrants.
Last month, Trump administration officials said they had deported 261 immigrants to El Salvador, 137 of whom were deported under the Alien Enemies Act.
“Invoking the Alien Enemies Act, an extraordinary wartime power with a shameful history, to arbitrarily detain and deport immigrants is bigoted, dangerous, and profoundly unjust,” James told CMC. “This nation is built on the hard work and determination of generations of immigrants, who work daily to serve our communities. We must respect their fundamental rights and dignity.
“The Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants are causing fear and chaos, devastating families, and hurting local economies,” the New York Attorney General added. “My office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight back and protect the rights of immigrants in New York and across our country.”
James said she has been fighting to protect vulnerable communities, such as Caribbean communities, and defend the rule of law from “unjust attacks” by the Trump administration.
In March, Chief Judge of the District Court for the US District of Columbia, James E. Boasberg, temporarily prohibited Trump from deporting immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Lee Gelernt, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer leading the lawsuit against Trump’s order, hailed Judge Boasberg’s ruling.
“We are thrilled the judge recognized the severe harm our plaintiffs would face if removed,” he said. “The president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act is flat-out lawless.”
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