The alleged criminals detained in north Texas will temporarily not be sent to El Salvador’s CECOT
The Trump administration has been ordered to halt the deportation of migrants to El Salvador—for now.
This temporary block offers a critical reprieve for the men currently detained in a facility in northern Texas, who are being held under the authority of an antiquated wartime statute—the Alien Enemies Act, crafted in the late 1700s. Thanks to an emergency ruling issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in the early hours of April 19, these individuals will now have an opportunity to contest their removal before facing possible exile to the notorious CECOT mega-prison, formally known as the Center for Terrorism Confinement.
The full Supreme Court directive stated:
“There is before the Court an application on behalf of a putative class of detainees seeking an injunction against their removal under the Alien Enemies Act. The matter is currently pending before the Fifth Circuit.
Upon action by the Fifth Circuit, the Solicitor General is invited to file a response to the application before this Court as soon as possible.”
Crucially, the Court emphasized:
“The Government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this Court.”
Notably, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the majority decision. A formal statement from Justice Alito is expected to follow.
The ruling puts a pause on a controversial and urgent matter, granting the detained men a temporary safeguard and the slimmest window to assert their innocence before they are potentially subjected to one of the most feared carceral systems in the Western Hemisphere.
A prison officer guards a cell at maximum security penitentiary CECOT, in El Salvador (Alex Peña/Getty Images)
To execute the deportation of individuals already flown to El Salvador, the Trump administration invoked a rarely cited piece of legislation dating back to the 18th century—the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. This archaic wartime statute was notoriously used during World War II to justify the internment of Japanese, German, and Italian civilians within the United States.
For context, on March 15, the administration orchestrated the transfer of hundreds of migrants to El Salvador’s infamously brutal “mega-prison,” a facility synonymous with state-enforced violence and overcrowding. The move sparked immediate outrage, as it appeared to directly contradict a ruling from U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who had issued a temporary injunction to halt the deportations—on that very same day.
Despite the court’s intervention, the flights reportedly went ahead, casting a chilling light on the legal loopholes leveraged and the human cost of their enforcement.
Prisoners look out of their cell at CECOT, where they are only given 30 minutes to exercise (Alex Peña/Getty Images)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back against allegations that the Trump administration had ignored a court mandate, issuing a statement firmly denying any such defiance. According to Leavitt, “The president and his administration did not refuse to comply with a court order.”
Meanwhile, CBS’s 60 Minutes launched an investigation into the status of 238 Venezuelans labeled as criminals by the U.S. government. Strikingly, 179 of them reportedly have no publicly documented criminal record—a revelation that casts a shadow of ambiguity over the classification.
CNN’s David Culver gained access to the facility where many of these individuals are being held. He described the stark and punishing environment, contrasting it with what one might expect in a typical American detention center. The cells, Culver noted, are designed to cram in 80 or more people at once, with inmates confined nearly around the clock—23.5 hours a day—under harsh and austere conditions.
“The only furnishings,” Culver reported, “are cold, tiered slabs of metal serving as bunks—no sheets, no pillows, no mattresses. Just an open toilet, a concrete sink, a plastic bucket for washing, and a jug of water for drinking.”
This grim portrait reveals a facility stripped of comfort, dignity, or basic human provisions—offering a sobering glimpse into the reality for those caught in this legal and humanitarian gray zone.
Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty