Court dockets
- JGG v Trump (1:25-cv-00766): initial complaint
- 25-5067 / 25-5068: government appeal to DC circuit
- 24A931: government appeal to Supreme Court
Background
Trump has declared that Venezuelan gangs represent an enemy invasion. Trump is using the wartime Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to send people to a foreign prison in El Salvador.
Some people have already been sent. They did not have a chance for judicial review to protest that they were not, in fact, gang members.
In JGG v Trump, some individuals suspected that the AEA might be used. They pre-emptively asked the courts to prevent the Trump government from deporting them without judicial oversight.
The question
Must the government let people object before sending them to a foreign prison for the rest of their lives?
Why it's fucked up
The AEA is a wartime measure. The US isn't at war.
Without the opportunity for judicial review, the government might send someone to a foreign prison that is not actually a gang member.
In related news, in Abrego Garcia v Noem, the question is "Once the government admits to incorrectly and illegally sending someone to an El Salvadoran prison, is that person allowed to ask to be returned?"
Current status
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled "today’s order and per curiam confirm that the detainees subject to removal orders under the AEA are entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.".
However, the ruling also found that individuals will need to litigate their challenges via habeas claims. This has raised questions as to whether each individual must litigate their claim individually, or whether it can be done via a class action.
More litigation is pending.