US top court allows Trump to use wartime law for deportations
The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump to use a rarely-invoked wartime powers law to rapidly deport alleged gang members – for now.
A lower court had temporarily blocked the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador on 15 March, ruling that the actions under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act needed further scrutiny.
Trump has alleged that the migrants were members of the Tren de Aragua gang “conducting irregular warfare” against the US and could therefore be removed under the Act.
While the administration is claiming the ruling as a win, the justices mandated that deportees must be given a chance to challenge their removal.
“The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs,” the justices wrote in the unsigned decision on Monday.
“The only question is which court will resolve that challenge,” they wrote.
Monday’s ruling said the challenge – brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of five migrants – was raised improperly in a Washington DC court and not in Texas, where the migrants are confined.
US stocks off to major bounce back
US stocks opened higher Tuesday, setting the stage for a rebound. The Dow rose 1,360 points, or 3.6%. The broader S&P 500 gained 3.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 3.76%.
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Most Asian stock indexes closed higher. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, which tracks more than 200 of the country’s biggest listed companies, closed 6% up. In South Korea, the Kospi closed 0.3% higher. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 closed 2.3% stronger. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index, composed of Hong Kong and mainland China’s largest listed companies, finished about 1.5% higher Tuesday. A day earlier, it had closed more than 13% lower on the day, in the biggest daily decline for the index since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
In Europe, the benchmark STOXX 600 index was up 2.7%. France’s CAC index rose 2.5% and Germany’s DAX 2.4%, while London’s FTSE 100 index was up 2.6%.
Appeals court restores DOGE access to sensitive information at US agencies
An appeals court on Monday cleared the way for billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to once again access people’s private data at three federal agencies, a win for the Trump administration as the underlying lawsuit plays out.
In a split ruling, the three-judge panel blocked a lower court decision that halted DOGE access at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction last month in federal court in Baltimore, saying the government failed to adequately explain why DOGE needed the information to perform its job duties.
Led by the American Federation of Teachers, the plaintiffs allege the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it gave DOGE access to systems with personal information on tens of millions of Americans without their consent, including people’s income and asset information, Social Security numbers, birth dates, home addresses and marital and citizenship status.
The Trump administration says DOGE is targeting waste across the federal government by addressing alleged fraud and upgrading technology.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has also sided with the Trump administration in other cases, including allowing DOGE access to U.S. Agency for International Development and letting executive orders against diversity, equity and inclusion move forward. The court left in place, however, an order temporarily blocking DOGE from the Social Security Administration, which contains vast amounts of personal information.
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