DEPORTATION OF VENEZUELAIANS ‘Could Lead to US CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS’

Lawyers for Venezuelans detained in Texas have asked the US Supreme Court to block what they say are impending deportations ordered by the Trump administration, Reuters reported.

The case raises questions about how President Donald Trump’s administration is abiding by the limits set by the Supreme Court.

The case has the potential to spark a serious confrontation between the two co-equal branches of the state, and could even lead to a full-blown constitutional crisis.

The latest escalation focuses on dozens of Venezuelans at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas. In court filings, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union said some were put on buses and told they would be deported.

Elected last year on a promise to crack down on immigration, Trump invoked the Foreign Enemies Act of 1798 to seek the swift removal of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison-based gang that his administration has designated a terrorist organization.

Their removal would be the first since a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that allowed deportations under the 1798 Act while stating that “notice must be given in a reasonable time and in a manner that allows them to actually seek relief in the appropriate place before such removal occurs.”

On March 15, the Trump administration deported more than 130 alleged Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador. Many of the men’s lawyers and families say they are not gang members and have had no opportunity to dispute the government’s assertion.