President Donald Trump is counting on the Supreme Court to ultimately confirm his power to deport mass numbers of illegal migrants, it was reported.
Trump's methodically planned approach — led by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the president's top domestic policy adviser — revolves around two cases: the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, Axios reported Wednesday.
The administration cited the Alien Enemies Act in the deportation of Venezuelan gang members and the Immigration and Nationality Act to detain anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, who helped lead pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
Civil rights groups on Monday sought "immediate clarification" from the Trump administration about weekend flights deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members from the U.S. despite a judge's order, saying the U.S. government may have violated the court.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said the flight was already in international airspace, not U.S. territory, when the judge's orders came and that more flights would continue.
Khalil, 30, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 8 outside his university residence in Manhattan. His lawyers have said he was targeted in retaliation for his role advocating for Palestinian rights, meaning the arrest violated free speech protections under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
Administration officials, citing the two laws, want the Supreme Court to answer five major questions, according to Axios.
- Does a peacetime president have the right to deport noncitizens under the war-time Alien Enemies Act?
- Should a single federal district court judge have the power to block a president's deportation program nationwide?
- Can that federal judge's order extend to international waters?
- Does a green card holder (Khalil) have speech rights that protect him from deportation?
- Can the secretary of state's power to deport immigrants based on foreign-policy concerns extend to many student visa holders?
"When you broaden that concept," a senior Justice Department official told Axios, "every single noncitizen who actively supports Hamas is subject to a determination by Secretary Rubio that they lose their status — and become exactly like Khalil and are immediately deportable."
"Our end game is all hands on deck, trying everything," the official said. "Everything we're doing, we're gaming out how the Supreme Court gets to decide."
The official added the administration has "other plans," such as seeking to strip U.S. citizenship from naturalized Americans.
Reuters contributed to this story.