Supreme Court Setback for Trump Deportation Plans

US intel analysts says no evidence of Venezuelan "invasion" plot

THE WEEK’S US BORDER NEWS IN BRIEF:

ICE says its agents are targeting “deportable criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety.” (US Immigration & Customs Enforcement photo)

• El Salvador renditions: The Supreme Court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump from implementing deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act for a group of immigrants in northern Texas, siding with Venezuelans who feared they were poised for imminent removal under the sweeping wartime authority. The ruling was not well-received by the President on TruthSocial or x.com:

  

  

  In related news, the White House fired intelligence officials who found no collusion between the Venezuelan government and the Tren de Aragua criminal group in any “predatory incursion.”

• More mass deportation developments: A two-year-old toddler was returned to her mother in Venezuela. Details emerged about the May 7th plan to send some migrants to Libya. Nine people have died in ICE detention since January 20th. Images of ICE arrests, with plainclothes, masked people picking people up off of U.S. streets, are generating a public-opinion backlash. DHS has requested that 20,000 National Guard troops participate in mass deportation, while the FBI is requiring agents to devote one-third of their time to immigration cases. U.S. immigration courts decided and denied more asylum cases in March 2025 than any other month during the previous 20 years.

• The military at the border: A federal magistrate judge in New Mexico threw out 98 prosecutions of migrants arrested for trespassing on a military installation, now that a fringe of territory stretching along the border throughout New Mexico and West Texas is considered a “military base.” A top Senate Democrat gave a floor speech voicing strong opposition to the military role in immigration enforcement. It appears that the administration has spent $42,000 per passenger to transport people aboard military aircraft to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.

• Human rights and accountability at CBP: A Senate committee advanced the nomination of Rodney Scott to be the next CBP commissioner along a party-line vote, amid controversy over his past stance on holding agents accountable for abuse. Two organizations used interviews with third-country migrants rendered to Costa Rica and Panama to reveal abuse suffered during their time in CBP and ICE custody in the United States. CBP quietly rescinded four Biden-era policies governing humane treatment of vulnerable people in custody.

• Border Patrol apprehensions increased from March to April: Border Patrol apprehended 279 migrants per day at the US-Mexico border in April, up from 232 per day in March. Migration from Mexico accounted for the entire increase. In April, 90 percent of migrants came from Mexico or northern Central America, and 84 percent were single adults. Mexico’s forces are encountering inside its territory more than twice as many migrants as CBP is encountering at the border.

NOTE: This weekly summary was adapted from a far more comprehensive one by WOLA.org, which you can read in full HERE.

(If you found this summary helpful, I invite you to financially support WOLA’s work).

US CUSTOMS & BORDER PROTECTION’S WEEKLY REPORT:

FINALLY, IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

(Stories US Border News published during the past week):

• Texas Offers Troops as Deportation Force

  DHS seeks 20,000 soldiers

• Illegal Alien Wanted in Four Murders Arrested in Texas

  Venezuelan Hit Man Suspect

• More Illegal Alien Murder Suspects Arrested

  One is a suspect in multiple murders

• Texas Border: Cartel Cash Smuggled by Mexican Law Agency Employee?

  $184,095 seized in Brownsville

• Sharia City Shutdown? EPIC City Halted, Governor Says

  Developer disputes that

• Sharia City? "EPIC City" Defenders Receive Death Threats

  State & Federal governments investigate

I am committed to delivering a US Border Newsletter that is not only educational and insightful but also engaging and easy to digest in five minutes or less.

(How am I doing? Let me know in the comments!)

Abrazos,

Jack Beavers

Jack Beavers - US Border News